


Saint Seiya: Love You, Kill Me

by JennyDeVic



Category: Saint Seiya, 聖闘士星矢: 冥王神話 | Saint Seiya: Next Dimension - Myth of Hades
Genre: Andromeda Island, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Child Death, Drama, Established Relationship (Albiore x OC), F/M, Family Secrets, Fanon, Gen, History of Shun, Implied Sexual Content, Past Child Abuse, Pre-Canon, Slow Burn (June x Shun)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2020-07-31 13:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 47,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20115610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyDeVic/pseuds/JennyDeVic
Summary: Seven year old Shun is sent to the second worst training ground to earn the Andromeda Cloth. He should be fine though. After all, what does the future Saint of Princess Andromeda have to fear from the Saint of King Cepheus?





	1. 1A: Sword and Friendship of Cepheus

**Author's Note:**

> Back in 2010, I wanted to create a semi-serious take on Shun's life on Andromeda Island. On fanfiction.net I spent two years writing and completing the work. I've had this account for a long time, but finally decided to put it to good use.  
But it wasn't just his story I wanted to tell, but also the Cepheus Saint's as well. We've always seen the impact of the relationship between Shun and Albiore, but never delve deep into it. 
> 
> Remember, in all of Saint Seiya, Albiore is the only one Shun actually swore to avenge.
> 
> The life of a Saint is hard. While the story is light-hearted, as you will soon find out, it is still paved with blood and death.  
It is complete, although I've been thinking about extending it. Who knows. I am fixing a lot of old grammar issues from the past. However, if you are interested in hurrying through to read it, just go to fanfiction.net and search for it there under the same name. If you enjoyed this, please leave feedback. I spent two years of constant writing and updating. It was a lot work and even now, just going back to fix old grammar errors per chapter can take hours.  
I'll try to post about a chapter about every couple of nights. 
> 
> Take care, and enjoy.

Shun's eyes opened. His face was drenched in sweat. It seems he had been sleeping for a while now. Sleeping was better than weeping. He could only do it for so long before the futility of his unanswered cries sets in.

Ikki was gone.

There was hardly anything in there. The books that the man provided were all in a text that he didn't understand. He tried to pile them like toy blocks, but that got old when the bumps in the waves would cause them to tumble. He would've liked to go outside and look at the Japanese waters before he would leave them. He never saw them before save for the dark, polluted shore that the boat was floating on.

But since he had no official paperwork, he was told that he had to hide inside the room until they were close to Andromeda Island. At least there was a lamp in there so that he wasn't in total darkness as well as a pillow and blanket to keep him comfortable. It was far roomier than the crate that they transported him from the Kido Orphanage.

He was so terribly bored. Suddenly he raised his head.

Footsteps!

Outside!

He crawled quickly to the door and sat in front of it. If he had a tail, it would be wagging right now as he waited in anticipation of what the sailor would bring him. He did promise he'd give him a time killer. He reached over and quickly pulled off the orange hood of his long-sleeved shirt, freeing his shoulder-length green curly locks. He looked down and made sure his pendant was tucked under, taking special care that not even the silver chain was showing.

Saul, the captain of the one man crew ship, knocked three times at the faded-red door before he opened it. Earlier when he first met him, to Shun's surprise, he was reasonably well groomed for a sailor. His thick hair was a bright grey with a well-trimmed short beard. He was a jolly man from the country of Madagascar, a place that was pretty far south of where Andromeda Island supposedly was. Shun turned toward the old man as he carried a steaming hot pot and a bright orange bottle.

"Hey, kid. Aren't we looking much better!" he always seemed to chuckle with each sentence. "You're as adorable as my granddaughter when you aren't sad. Are you hungry?" He raised an eyebrow as he slowly nodded with a very soft smile. He knew what the little boy was thinking! His bright green eyes were fixated on the steel pot in his hand. "Yeah, you are, aren't you?"

Shun smiled and nodded. "I am hungry." He was glad he was able to communicate with him. It took a few times, but they settled on English since it was the only other language besides Japanese and Greek that was taught at the orphanage.

"I got you some of that chicken noodle can stuff and an orange soda pop to wash it down." he sat it down in front of the child and handed him the sizeable wooden serving spoon that he used to stir it with. Aside from the rust on the side of the handle, it actually made his mouth water.

"It all looks delicious!" he grinned, "thank you!" he took his serving spoon and scooped a large number of square noodles and chicken. He sipped the golden juice before he reached out and grabbed one of the pieces of meat. He broke it in half and looked around it just like Ikki would do for him. His eyes searched, but there weren't any of those grainy vitamins that the orphanage would stuff in food like this. He thought about it; Saul did tell him that it came from a can and considering what he had done thus far he shouldn't have to worry about the food he gave him. He tilted his head to eat the broken pink cubed tender chicken morsel.

Saul stood there. He was a little confused by the child's strange behavior, but still, he knew there something he forgot to do. "How are your pants?" Shun looked up, patted his clean, dry khakis and gave a thumbs up. It was good to see the child in proper spirits after what had happened earlier. How can he blame him? He'd shit in his pants too if they locked him alone in a box, waiting to be delivered. He looked around the food and then he grabbed Shun's bottle. He pulled out his trusty beer opener from his pocket and removed the cap off his drink before giving it back. "Ah there we go; I almost forgot to open that."

Shun cautiously looked at the orange fluid as it fizzed and made funny noises. Ikki told him that if it is sealed, it should be okay. He took it and sipped the contents. His hand reached up and began to press his throat lightly since it burned a little bit but had a very sweet and delightful taste. "It's very bubbly!" he giggled before taking a larger sip.

The old sailor laughed. "Well good! I'm glad you like it! When you finish your food," he leaned down and pointed to a spot by the door, "Just set it right there. I'll pick it up later. Oh, before I go," he reached into his pocket. As his hand dug searched inside, Shun could see the grey sleeve of his shirt scrunch back to reveal a tattoo, "here, I found some playing cards. Listen, I need to get back on deck. I'd hate to run into another boat, and they'll definitely pull us over and well… let's not let it come to that." He reached over and ruffled Shun's head of hair. He quickly headed back leaving Shun alone.

Shun went back to his meal. The chicken-noodle-canned-stuff had such a beautiful color and smell to it. It was saltier than what he was used to but still pretty tasty. He picked up a noodle and slurped it up. Perhaps he was being a little silly, but he needed something to keep himself entertained. When he's sleeping, he's thinking, and the only other thing that he could think of other than how his brother was doing was if the things the guards that talked to him were true? Is Andromeda Island really that horrible?

_"What's the matter? Scared now? Guess what Tatsumi reported? It's a hot desert by day and a frozen wasteland by night. There are no plants or animals. No civilization, there's nothing!" he could still feel the sweaty grip of the guard's hand as he cupped his chin and winked. "But you are quite a cutie. Maybe a few slave pirates will come by and…"_

_There was another guard. "Nah, it'll be like prison. Fill the place with enough virgins and nature will take care of the rest."_

Ikki told him that they're just lies to make him cry. He always told him: Words can't hurt you.

"Pirates… virgins…" he murmured. He had no idea what a virgin was, but if they were associated with pirates and prison, then they were probably just as bad.

He looked at his deck of cards. He didn't know any games. He only saw playing cards on television when other people were playing with them. He sighed. Two books he couldn't read and a deck of cards he didn't really know what to do with. He thumbed through the cards. Could he try sorting them?

He spread them out and began shifting them around. He placed two piles before them. It made sense to have letters on one side and numbers on the other. "Uh oh, where's the one?" He had numbers 2-10. How can he play with an incomplete set?

His alphabet pile was worse since all he had was the A, J, K, and Q. He did like the pictures though. He sorted all the people out and began to look at the different art. Some people had swords while others had flowers. He picked up the K card with the red hearts on it. It was strange and a bit more morbid than the other cards. He took the card and kept flipping it. Either way, he was stabbing himself. After looking at all the pictures, he placed the deck down by his two useless books. He finished his food and set his pot and empty bottle by the door. All he can do was walk back to his pillow and rest his head. His belly was full, and perhaps he will have pleasant dreams this time? He would like that a lot.

Uh oh, he forgot to pray!

Ikki said that Mommy liked it when he prayed for her. He told him that she could hear him from heaven. He sat up and reached around his neck to pull off his silver-star pendant. That was the nice thing about being alone; he wasn't worried about the other orphans trying to take Mommy's necklace. Despite it all, Ikki always found a way to track it down and bring it back to him. Although, every time he brought it back, he had this strange look like he was in his own little world.

_"Shun, don't show this to anyone. If they see it, they'll try to steal it and sell it off. Don't leave it lying around either. Promise me, okay?"_

_"Uh huh, I will, brother!"_

_"Shun… don't forget, to pray to Mommy every night with it. Always pray… to Mommy."_

It was such a beautiful necklace. He raised it above the lamp and smiled as the pendant slowly turned and reflected the yellow light making it look like the tiny room was filled with endless stars. He took the necklace and then wrapped it around his hands before they came together. He bowed his head before the light. It gave his face a golden glow and warmed his cheeks. He never really knew what to say to Mommy, but Ikki said anything will do. She just wanted to hear his voice every night.

"Dear God, please watch over my brother at the orphanage and the others as well. Watch over Mommy in heaven and… um… wherever Daddy is right now.

Yours Ever, Amen."

He turned around and placed his head on the white pillow. He pulled the blue blanket to his chest. His tiny hand reached over and turned off the lamp. It was so dark that he couldn't even see his hands in front of him. He closed his eyes. It was time to dream.

The boat he was on passed Okinawa and proceeded to leave the borders of Japan.

After a few days, Shun was permitted to leave the room. He stepped outside on the deck and saw some dolphins swimming alongside the boat. He then glances toward the horizon. It was then he finally got his first glimpse of the supposed six-year hell he must endure Andromeda Island.

_You think you know a story, but you only know how it ends. To get to the heart of the story, you must go back to the beginning._

_King Henry VIII from "The Tudors"_

**O|==========|O**

**Love You, Kill Me**

**Part One: The Chain Gang of Andromeda Island**

**Chapter One: Sword and Friendship of Cepheus**

**O|==========|O**

"Won't be long, kid," commented Saul as he gave Shun a big pat on the back.

The child stared blankly at the rocky features as the sea mist struck his face.

Shun's attention drew to the towering twin volcanoes near the east side of the island. The place from a distance looked like it was just one big rock that formed into an island. The only colors he could see were the red lava at the top of the active volcanoes. The water around the island, was strangely grey, a clear contrast with the bright blue ocean around them. Not only that but it formed a perfect circle around the place. As the boat crossed the border, the sky seemed a little darker, and the temperature almost shot up. Shun looked down. The dolphins that were leaping next to their boat had turned away.

"Brother…" Shun mumbled as he instinctively stepped back. But Ikki wasn't there to reach over and place his hands on his shoulders. Instead, soon he will once more say goodbye to the sailor, and he would be alone with who knew what. Shun's body sank down as he held onto the rail. He closed his eyes, came back to his senses and rose back up. He had to be brave. "This is nothing compared to Death Queen Island," he reassured himself. Ikki would not want to see him like this. Besides, what could he do? Even if he ran away, he'd have no place to go. He doesn't even know how to swim.

The man looked down at him. "Are you nervous?"

Shun nodded. Sure the man smelled like cigars, but he needed someone. He walked over and buried his head into the sailor's side. "Why is this place so different than the other islands?"

He rubbed Shun's hair. "That is because it is different. The man of the island there, Daidalos… I personally just call him Dal but sometimes Al out of habit." He pointed over toward the island. "He once told me that the waters around the island are cursed."

Shun tilted his head up. His pupils were about the size of saucers at that moment. "How is it cursed?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything cursed about it except it's a horrible fishing spot and hotter than hell. I think it has something to do with the island and the waters just have too much stuff that causes the life around it to die out. Other than that, it is not the worse place to be. I don't think you have to worry about anything, trust me, I've been coming to this place for about oh… fourteen years… give or take."

Shun turned away from the depressing island. Perhaps the man could tell him more about the place before they reach the dock? "That's a long time. What do you do there, Saul?"

Saul leaned against the rail and chuckled. "The easiest job I ever had. I'll tell you what, all I have to do is deliver supplies once every two months, make emergency trips like taking you over there, and he'd pay me more in that time than two years of fishing ever would. Of course, fishing isn't what it used to be." He took his hand and patted the right side of his hip.

Shun turned toward the black semi-auto. It was a Browning. He knew; the guards were always using them. He felt a small pain in his left foot. "You didn't shoot anyone with it, did you?" he asked nervously.

Saul shook his head. "Nah, I know these waters and where all the hot spots are. Still, I keep it, and if I die without firing a shot, my wife can yell at my grave for wasting three hundred Euros on the damn thing." Seeing no reaction from the child he reached over and flicked a little lock of Shun's bangs from his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Shun continued to stare out at the island. "What is he like?"

"I've heard from the other kids that came here that he can be strict… a bit boring during lectures… typical teacher stuff. To be honest, I've worked with him and another lady since they were about your age. From what I've seen he's always been polite to those who come over. Bright too, I keep telling him what the hell he's doing wasting his life there and to share his gifts, but keeps saying that he can't tell me why. Oh well, you may want to ask June, she's a little girl that hangs around him a lot. You'll like her, she wears a mask, but you can tell she's quite a sweetheart," Saul looked down and winked.

Shun, feeling confused by the gesture. He winked back before he turned his head toward the foreboding island.

Saul stood there as he tried to think of a way to cheer the child up; "wait here." He walked away toward a small box on the deck. Shun turned his head over and watched him reach into the box and pull out a couple of bottles. He took his bottle opener, popped open the metal caps and handed Shun the brown bottle. "There you go, have a lager! If you're man enough to go over there, I suppose you're man enough to have a beer."

Shun looked down at the three horses on the label before he smelled the top. He looked over as the silly man goofily opened the orange soda and watched the bubbles fizzled inside. Shun frowned, "can we trade?" he asked as he held the bottle up to him.

The sailor stupidly eyed the bright orange drink, before doing a double take, "Are you sure? Once you get there, I doubt he isn't going to let you have any of that! What you got there is a MAN'S drink!"

Shun turned toward it and frowned. He could care less if it was a MAN'S drink or not. "I like orange soda!"

Saul shrugged and switched their bottles. Shun started to chug the sweet orange bubbly brew.

"Ah, there you go! Now you're smiling!"

Shun couldn't help it. Perhaps the trip did start off rough at the harbor, but the second he stepped on Saul's boat, he had stopped crying, and quite a bit of anxiety that he had for the island of pirates and virgins had gone away. Soon he'll leave too though. Why was it that every time he meets a kind person that they always leave him?

June stood tall on the final Elysium Cliff. She turned her head and noticed Saul's boat, "La Patte de Singe" or "The Monkey Paw," approaching from a distance and will need to work quickly. She examined the two offensive ends for the Andromeda practice chains. She was supposed to test them to make sure they were in good condition, but a quick glance was all she needed.

The edges were dull and brittle while the heavy coating of rust made it blend in with the rest of the ground. This year was probably the worst for the Elysium Pretest. They hadn't had anyone survive it for eleven months. The two that did were both transferred out leaving no one to try for the most important cloth on the island. Her finger slid into the open offensive triangles. With barely a tug, the two ends broke off. She kicked the decomposing stake into the pit below. She reached into the bag the Master gave her and pulled a new wooden stick, and three freshly forged offensive triangle ends.

She looked at her hand, and it began to glow silver. She took the stake and set the tip right in the middle of the three of them. She raised her fist in the air; burning with Cosmos and slammed it causing the wooden tip to break through the rock, securing it firmly into the Earth. Her job complete, she quietly jumped off the edge. Her hand instinctively grabbed a ledge and she quickly free-climbed down to the canyon below.

The boat was close to the rock pier now. A girl with long blond hair and a mask stood on it. Was that his master? Saul told him it was a man. Shun headed over to the sailor and tugged on his brown leather coat. Shun reached out and pointed only to see that by the blond haired girl was a man now. Shun let go and stared in confusion. Where did he come from?

He was reasonably tall, not as tall as Tatsumi but he definitely looked way stronger. The scientists at the Orphanage had shown him and the other orphans old pictures of the "cloths" that Saints wore. Most of them were old and broken. The few that were fixed were often shaped as various things like animals and objects. It was the first time he had ever seen someone wear it. The man turned his head toward Shun, and all he could do was shy away from his gaze.

The boat was finally close enough. Saul reached out for a wooden platform and swung one side over to the Saint. He took it and placed it down on the dock pushing his foot on it. "_D'accord_!" he gave a thumb up and then gestured over to them.

Saul nodded and looked down. "Come on," he held Shun's hand and walked him over the wooden plank.

It wobbled a little bit, but it felt sturdy enough. Besides, Shun was pretty good on the balance beam. It almost seemed like the sailor had more trouble walking on the plank and was using Shun as support. Once they reached the other side, the Silver Saint approached the two and shook hands with the sailor. To Shun's surprised, even though the Saint was far taller and stronger than the sailor; the old man came forward and hugged him and ruffled the Saint's hair a little bit like a small child. Even more surprising, the Saint allowed it to happen with an expression that made it seem like he was quite used to it. They bantered back and forth in French. Shun couldn't understand a word of it. Instead, he relied a little bit on the sailor's vibrant gestures since the armored man was a little more stoic with his arms resting on his sides and his head nodding a bit.

The sailor than reached over to the man, pulled his shoulder to his level. The man looked a little embarrassed as he rose up before the sailor urgently pulled him back down. Saul waved his hand flamboyantly, sometimes pointing over to Shun. He then slapped the man's back before the two of them gazed over to Shun.

Feeling shy, he took a few steps back before the Saint reached out and grabbed his hand. Shun felt his foot slide a bit at the wooden plank before he was pulled forward. "Careful, you just got here," the Saint remarked as he switched back to Greek. He helped Shun back on his feet and studied the young boy.

The young Japanese child was doing his best to smile, but his eyes wavered. The Master wasn't afraid to admit that his armor can look rather imposing especially with two hanging chains on either side. He knelt down on one knee until he was about the boy's eye level. The first thing he did was reached over and pulled off his right gauntlet with the large heavy spiked ball chain and placed it on the ground. Underneath was a large strong but human hand with a thick layer of matching blue leather covering it, "welcome to the Andromeda Island Training Grounds, Shun Amimiya," he slowed his speech near the end with careful enunciation. "Is that how you pronounce your name?"

Shun reached over and shook it. The man's hair was a very light blond. It was long and went past his shoulders. The one thing that really stood out was that his eyes were almost as blue as his armor. He didn't even know why he felt shy before. He really was as polite as Saul had said earlier.

"Shun, can you understand me?" The Saint typically had quite a bit of information over the students he received. Unfortunately, except for Shun's name and the fact that he, or was it a she, is from Japan, he didn't know anything about them.

Mustering up a little more confidence he sharply nodded once. "Yes, I can, you don't have to slow down for me. I can understand you just fine." back at the orphanage, everything was heavily taught in Greek. Mr. Kido made sure that if they weren't training, they were learning how to speak the language well. The hardest was the Greek Weeks where Japanese was forbidden, and anyone caught speaking it was punished.

He looked over the shoulder guard of the Saint and noticed the same young blond girl behind him. Up close, he could see two curvy red streaks on her face, and her bright pink top with a golden yellow sash on her hips that brought quite a bit of color to the dull rock island. She took her hand and waved to him. Shun raised his free hand and waved back. Even though he couldn't see her face, she too seemed friendly. Maybe the island wasn't that bad?

Saul looked at his watch before he leaned over to the Saint and whispered in French. "[Dal, I need to get going, I heard that a storm was moving in the direction I'm heading and if I don't leave soon...]" he quickly whispered.

The Saint looked up, "[No no… go right ahead. Thank you for taking care of this. I appreciate you going as far as you did.]"

The Sailor then handed him a manila envelope with several papers inside. "[Here, this was left on the crate he was in. Can't read a lick of Greek, but I'm going to assume they are the boy's files.]" Daidalos took it and waved goodbye.

Shun looked up and did the same. As soon as the boat left, the child looked over to his new teacher. "What's your name?" He knew Saul told him a few times, but it seemed a little long and complicated. He doubted that he would want him to call him Dal.

He stood up; Shun's eyebrows rose up in shock. The Saint was a lot taller than he thought. Shun probably reached about the top of the armor on his thigh. "My full title is Saint Cepheus Daidalos, but as your teacher and mentor, you will refer to me as Master Daidalos, or simply Master will also do," he gestured over to the girl. "Over here, is my assistant for the Andromeda Bronze trials as well as my trainee for the Chameleon Bronze Cloth, June. She's about three years into her cloth. However, she has six more years since she chose to go for the Bronze-Trainer title."

Shun approached her. It was rare for him to see other girls in person except for Saori. She reached over and held out her hand. Shun shook it before letting go so he could wipe his face. The heat of the Island was three times worse than on the boat.

"Shun, it's time to go. We have a long way to the living area. This way, please," Master Daidalos spoke as he began to walk forward. June instinctively followed.

Shun looked over and grabbed his bag and ran over to Master Daidalos' left side. As they walked farther from the port area, the hot air felt like it was choking him. He wasn't worried; perhaps he wasn't really used to the weather yet? The path was dirty and dusty with large rocks placed at either side.

June reached over toward her side and pulled out a leather-skinned container of water. There wasn't much left, but Shun was extremely grateful for what little she had to offer. Halfway through, they all stopped at a large light grey pot. The Master pulled the top off, filled a cup and handed it to Shun.

Typically, he should check it to see if it had the funny particles like at the orphanage. However, he was too hot right now and didn't care. At this point, Shun was a sweaty mess. His orange hoodie was weighted down with sweat. He had marks under his arms, chest, back and even his hair sagged with sweat. His face was red, and he was panting heavily. He drank the cup and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He took his collar and pulled it from his neck to vent some of the heat from his chest.

"Would you like more, Shun?" the Master asked him.

Shun thought about it. "I think I'll be," no, he couldn't wait. He was so parched right now. "One more, please." He handed his cup over to the Saint. He felt embarrassed because the sides were covered in his salty sweat. The Master simply filled it up and handed it back to Shun.

Half an hour later, three huts began to appear. The largest one obviously belonged to his teacher. It had a chimney inside of it and a deck. Two others sat next to each other. They looked about one room each all made of lightly colored wooden planks with angled white roofs. Right outside the Master's hut was a bonfire area with chopped wood carefully placed to the side and five rocks. Over in the corner was a huge perfectly round rock. A wooden sign was planted in front of it with the Greek words "Don't push!" in purple chalk and more exclamation marks than he had time to count.

The Master reached around his belt and pulled out an elaborate scroll that was made of bronze. It was silver plated with a band of gold trim featuring all twelve signs of the zodiac. The three metals of the scroll represent equal loyalty toward Athena. "Shun, before we go in, I want you to read this, it's called a blood contract. All students are required to make the decision to sign it in their blood before they can begin. If you choose not to sign, I or any other Saint cannot train you. I will allow you to stay over here until Saul is able to return. He can take you back to Japan. This is your choice, Shun." He handed the scroll to the child. He looked down on him and thought of what Saul told him earlier. "Shun, before you sign, could you read it out loud? I want to make sure you understand what is written here. Once you sign it, you will immediately start the path of Sainthood, and there is no turning back."

Shun looked at it and rolled it out. His eyes shifted a little bit as he mumbled the words. It was in Greek, but he found it far easier to read than to speak it. Once he reached the bottom, he faced the Saint of Cepheus with his eyes focused on the writing before him. "I swear by my blood that I will train for the right to become a Saint of Athena. I understand the dangers in the passage of Sainthood and…" he looked at the word. It was a little difficult to pronounce.

June walked to his side and whispered "…_failure…_"

Shun thanked her and continued, "…failure to obtain a cloth, whether bronze, silver or gold may result in…" Shun paused.

June peered over his shoulder once more. The lettering seemed to have smudged from Shun's sweaty finger poking at it, but it was still very legible "…_death…_"

Shun shook his head, "death, should I not provide the proper blessing of my Master or forgo the path of the Ekdromos…" Shun stopped, puzzled by the word.

"Ekdromos is an ancient Greek term that is used to refer to our infantry. Their cosmos is classified as below that of a bronze saint but high enough to serve Athena. Their armor has no special capabilities whatsoever. Does that answer your question, Shun?" spoke the Saint of Cepheus. He watched Shun nod his head. "Good, you may keep going."

Shun looked back at where he stopped. "I will abide by all the rules that govern the training area and understand that there will be…" he looked over and pointed to the long word.

"…_consequences…_" June whispered to him.

"…consequences should I fail to do so," he reached the end. There was no turning back. Maybe deep inside he had thoughts that he could try his best and the Cepheus Saint could send him home. Ikki could return with his Cloth, and they would still be reunited. However, based on what he read, that doesn't seem to be the case. "I'm ready to sign."

Master Daidalos reached for Shun's hand and folded his fingers except for his pointer. His eyes looked at Shun's small hand before he pulled out a small ceremonial golden dagger with a thin three-inch triangular blade. With a flick of the wrist, he gently makes a short cut on the tip of the child's finger. A small trickle of blood ran down and landed in the Master's hand.

Shun flinched a little as he reached out and signed his name as quickly as he could. There wasn't a lot, and he ended up smearing the "n" in his name.

The Master looked up. "Shun, I hate to do this to you, but you need your last name too."

He looked down, there wasn't really that much left. That was when the Cepheus Saint held out his hand from where the blood dripped earlier. Shun took his finger and dabbed it like a quill and finished his signature.

June stared at her teacher's bloody hand and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

Shun looked up and watched the Master walk to her side and reached over to the girl's shoulder. "June, go into the Temple and gather the things needed for the pretest. I think that it's better than waiting out here."

She silently nodded and broke off toward a sandy trail.

Shun felt confused. "Did I make her upset? I just couldn't say the words in the contract," he mumbled. He really wasn't trying to be rude. He took a few steps in her direction and coned his hands around his mouth, "I'm sorry, June!" he called out.

"Shun, don't worry about it. You didn't do anything. On these days, she tends to feel ill," spoke the Master as he rolled the scroll up and headed straight for his hut. "Come with me, Shun, we have something that we must talk about."

Shun walked over to the Master's residence where the Saint opened the door for him. Two chairs were in the middle of the room. Shun took a seat on the right-hand side. The Master entered, grabbed the right wing of his helmet and pulled the whole thing off. He placed it and the manila folder on the light brown desk next to a pot of fresh water.

Shun's curious eyes wandered around the room. Behind the desk was a matching wooden chair. There was a wooden cabinet that seemed heavy with papers, and another drawer labeled medical supplies in the Greek text. Several tools were hung along the wall and properly labeled. He turned around and noticed a sizeable ornate silver box next to a large bed. It must be used to hold his teacher's Cloth. Shun pointed to it.

The Master turned to his Cepheus Pandora's Box. "Go ahead."

Shun nodded and approached the mystical object. Just like the Cloths of Saints, the only time he's seen the actual boxes that held them was on pictures from the scientists. His hands reached out and felt the patterns along the sides. The metal was so shiny that it perfectly reflected his face. He gently knocked on it. It didn't even echo even though it was probably hollow with his teacher wearing his Cloth. He looked down; using his finger, he lifted the handle up before lowering it back down. The scientists told him that many Saints believed it was a bad omen to open another's box without the permission of the Saint.

On the front was a man holding a scepter. The metal was warm to the touch but not from the heat of the room. It was like touching another person. He hovered his hand near the front. It almost felt like the box was alive as he could feel the faint traces of air blowing against his sweaty hand like it was breathing. Shun traced the King's face before he heard what sounded like a woman's voice:

_Phobou tous Danaous kai dōra pherontas._

Shun jerked around. All he saw was the Saint of Cepheus holding Shun's cup and the pitcher.

"Shun, is there something wrong?"

Shun shook his head. "No, I just thought I heard something." He understood the words, but not the meaning. He took his wet sleeve and wiped his face. Maybe he was so hot that he was imagining it? "What does Phobou tous…uh..."

_Phobou tous Danaous kai dōra pherontas. It means beware of the Dannans, you know, the Greeks, even bearing gifts._

_It's a warning in ancient, never mind. Father thought you were a girl._

"Oh, I still don't get it…" Shun mumbled.

"Shun?"

The Japanese boy turned around. "Master?"

The Cepheus Saint raised an eyebrow. "What did she tell you?"

Shun shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." Shun was telling the truth. He had no idea who was talking to him and what there was to worry about.

The Saint nodded, sensing the child's earnest confusion and dismissed it. He reached over and helped Shun up and guided him to his chair. Daidalos walked back behind his desk and sat down to assume his role of the Saint of Cepheus once more.

"How was the boat ride," Master Daidalos asked as he handed a cup of water to the boy.

"It was good. The Sailor was very nice to me. Although, it was a little boring since all I could do was sleep most of the time," Shun muttered before he greedily chugged the water from his cup. The Saint refilled it, and Shun drank it just as quickly.

"I thought you'd like him. He's my supplier for this island and a damn good one too. Anytime I need something, he was always there for me." Master Daidalos stopped and made a strange face. He reached over and brushed some of Shun's green bangs out of his eyes. "You look a little pale, if you aren't feeling well, we can delay our meeting for another time," he took his pitcher and filled the empty cup again. "You've had a very long journey; perhaps you should rest for a day and gather some strength."

Shun shook his head. Ikki told him that it was important that he made an excellent first impression to whoever was going to teach him. "No, I'm fine. It just feels really hot in here. Besides, I don't really want to go back to sleep." He drank half of his cup and looked up, "I'm sorry." He felt like a sweaty pig. "I'm just really thirsty."

The Master took the pitcher and filled the rest. "Water is essential on this island, Shun. If you drank the recommended eight cups a day, I can guarantee that you would sweat it all out before noon today without any physical activity. Drink as much as you need, especially if you're thirsty."

Shun thanked him and drank two more cups afterward. He kept looking around and was surprised by the number of different tools that were hanging on the wall. Many he didn't recognize, but things like the hammer and a wrench were easy to spot. On top of the mantle of the fireplace was a chess set carved out of stone. At the far end was a long pink ribbon.

He turned to Shun with a concerned look. "Shun, tell me, how much information they gave you about my Training Grounds?" he took his pitcher and filled Shun's glass.

He swallowed hard as he took a big gulp of the precious fluid. "They told me about it on the way to the bus. They said it would be hot and cold and there were pirates and virgins here too."

The Master flinched as he filled Shun's glass again. "Most of the pirates come from Somalia as well as many others. They rarely ever attack here on the land, they prefer boats. The island does serve as a good halfway point from Somalia and Yemen. It's also uncharted too. There were times when they've tried to wipe us out and claim it, or at least they try to." He wasn't going to comment on the last part. It could've been a simple mistranslation which was normal for orphans even in the Sanctuary sponsored orphanages.

Shun held his glass as he absorbed the information. His lip quivered ever so slightly. The guards, they were all liars. They only want to make him cry! Ikki said they were all liars, but all he saw and heard had come true. "Master Cepheus Day-da-da," Shun struggled with the last part.

"It's Daidalos. Shun, you can just call me Master. You don't need to use my full title."

Shun nodded. "I just wanted to ask why you wanted to know. Did I do something wrong?"

He watched as Shun guzzled the drink down. "I ask because for as long as I've taught, I've never met anyone who came here with a long-sleeved hooded shirt and pants. This place is notorious for its weather. During the day, it never falls below a hundred and determining on the volcano and where you are at, it can be between 130-150 degrees," he looked down at Shun's glass and casually filled it up.

"I didn't plan on it," he stopped midsentence and took another drink. He didn't want to tell him they stripped him in the middle of a bedroom full of kids and threw on whatever was nearby, but he didn't have to lie either. "I don't own a lot of clothes. I knew it would be hot, but I didn't think," he looked at his empty cup and Daidalos had already filled it up. Shun gave a weak half smile, at least the teacher here was considerate.

Master Daidalos turned to him. "Did you thought it would be like Japan where a nice ocean breeze will cool it off?" Shun nodded. "Technically," Master Daidalos drummed his hands once on the handle of his pitcher. "It should be, or at least slightly muggier, but we have Poseidon's Ring to thank for that."

"The curse?" questioned Shun. Was this what the sailor was talking about?

"Poseidon was quite furious with what happened with The Sacrifice. So he created a ring around the island. This place used to be a lot more tropical; it had many things that the other paradise islands had in addition to being an important resource for Concentrated Stardust. The ring somehow chokes the island; marine life won't approach this place except for a few. The weather became messed up, and due to its rapidly changing nature, it virtually killed anything green, turning topsoil to sand, fields into desert. Those that used to inhibit this place cursed the day that Andromeda was rescued. When she was saved; everything died. I hate Ovid, but at least his ending was better than the truth."

Shun thought of the dolphins. They looked like they didn't want to be near Andromeda Island. Ikki said dolphins were really smart too. His eyes looked over toward his half-full glass and turned toward the Master. Something else was troubling his mind. He seemed nice, but there was always this sad tone to his voice regardless of the subject.

He looked over at the green haired boy. "Shun," he reached into one of the drawers and pulled out a box and handed it to the child. He watched as the young boy curiously pulled the top off. "Are you familiar with the wooden sword?"

His green eyes looked up. Ikki was always into that part of the Greco-Roman classes. "Gladiators earned them if they fought well and survived in the Coliseum," Shun shut his eyes as he tried to think of the word for it.

"Exactly, it was a symbol for a man who was free and didn't need to fight ever again," he spoke as he took Shun's hand and placed the sword's wooden grip in it. "Shun, this is a dangerous place, and only those who willingly dedicate their lives to earning Sainthood will survive. There is danger in places you won't expect. The one you trust may be the first to stab you in the front. In fact, most don't even survive past the first month, and tragically, some don't make it through the first day either."

"What happens to them?" he blurted out. He turned toward the yellow ribbon that was tied around the dull blade of the sword.

"Many things, heat exhaustion, frostbite, poison, parasites, training accidents," he spoke as he faced away, grasping his hands behind him, "_poor choices_… there are countless things on this island determining what cloth a person is going for… the Andromeda one that you seek, I could count on one hand on how many people actually live by the fifth year." He turned around and looked at Shun. "Even now, as I look at you, your face," he narrowed his eyes as he twisted his face and waved his finger a little bit as if he was thinking of what to say, "it has this familiar look that I've seen many times: can I truly make it here? Am I right?"

Shun looked at the sword and rested on his shoulder with the false blade near his neck. "I don't… maybe?"

"If that is the case you don't deserve to be here. This sword is yours, and if you wish, you don't have to be here. You don't have to train on Andromeda Island. If you truly wish to not be here, then by tradition, you simply hand it over to me, and you won't have to worry about having to train here anymore."

Shun looked down at it and started to cry. "NO!" he screamed. His hands instinctively flew to his face causing the wooden sword to fall to the floor. He felt guilty for his clumsiness, but he couldn't help it. He was angry and sad. He hadn't been here for a day, and already his teacher is telling him to give up. He can't go back to Japan after all that Ikki had done for him. Why did he even contemplate it? "I can't! What about the contract I just signed?" He whimpered as his wet eyes looked toward the Saint.

The Master pulled it out, walked over to the cold fireplace and held the scroll next to it. "No one has to know, Shun."

June approached the Nebula Temple. It was a large chunk of black molten lava that the Master had carved and hollowed out into a black sphere. It was reasonably large, at least large enough to fit the Andromeda armor on a large pedestal and tall enough to where the Master wasn't worried about bumping his head. She could tell he had to make adjustments over the years.

A giant arrow drawn in the sand pointed straight toward the box as if it mocked those who had tried to steal it. The Master described to her how capricious Andromeda was. From what he told her, The Princess was tired of pirates trying to take her. The dried blotches of red reflected how many who have tried for it and failed. There was a large box drawn in the sand. Although the Nebula Chain can cross dimensions with its infinite length, without a wielder, the Nebula Chains were limited to about five feet. The Cepheus Silver Cloth bearer was the only one who could cross the box area without permission of the Andromeda Cloth due to the special bond they share. It can also manipulate the Cloth and even use the chains if needed since it was the only way the Cepheus Saint can administer the Sacrifice Ceremony.

Every once in a while a student would wander inside. As long as they don't cross the line, it would just sit humbly in its box. Sometimes, it didn't even care if they did cross the line. It's not rare for the Master to come in and the cloth would be toying around with the latest Andromeda Saint candidate. What was strange was that when she arrived, all the Andromeda Cloth felt was its hatred for her. Its normal soft rose colored cosmos would darken considerably, and it would always rattle its chains like a snake warning off its adversaries. Still, whenever the Master needed something, she would never think twice. Besides, she hated the first meeting of the new students. Even if it were dangerous for her to be in the Nebula Temple, she would rather deal with an unruly brat than spend the hour wondering if the meeting went well or not.

The walls inside were black with several chains that were strung around. They were light pink in color due to the Cosmos that emitted from the Andromeda Bronze. It was like they were blessed by the Cloth and were suitable in simulating the Nebula Chains. In the end, they were still standard chains that can break, rust and dull.

June took out her whip; all she needed was fifteen feet worth. That should cover all three of them for today and tomorrow. She cracked it and broke the first link off. It fell to the ground while the rest continued to hang on a hook on the wall. She turned her head toward the Pandora Box, as the triangular end flipped the top open while the circular defense slithered out. The strange shadows that the chains on the walls had cast were growing more massive and foreboding.

June turned toward the ground and, as she feared, the chain she needed fell within the boundaries.

If she grabbed it with the whip, chances are it would attempt to drag her within its reach. It had a longer reach, but it would be too slow. It had tried it once; luckily the Master was around to stop it from drilling a hole through her head. Her hands would be much quicker. The Master told her that if she was having trouble than she should just contact him. Her eyes turned toward the fallen links. They weren't that far from the line.

June knelt down on her yellow leg coverings. Her hand was barely outside the line when the two chains arched up, ready to strike. She jerked her hand toward the pink linked chain and grabbed it.

Like a bolt of lightning, the square end shot forward. Her hand quickly seized the chains, and she rolled to the side and promptly tucked her head toward her chest. Pieces of rock blew all over the place. She brushed it off her hair and turned around. A small crater was left where she had pulled the chains away.

Shun cried as the Master shook his head and placed the contract on the corner of his desk. He then reached down and picked up the wooden sword from the floor and the box it was held in. He had carved them himself. Some of them had small indentions from when children would play fight with them. "Shun, why did you came here when it wasn't even your choice?" he looked over at him and then the sword. He took Shun's hand and placed the sword in it.

This time, he gently placed it back down in the chair next to him. "I-I have chosen!" he tightened his fists with the sound determination of a kitten. "I choose to stay here and become a Saint!" he cried as his voice cracked. He closed his eyes and began to sob even harder. While it was kind of pathetic, this was the second time Shun said no.

He felt Master Daidalos' hand; at first, he thought he was trying to reach for the sword again, but instead, he was merely handing him a piece of cloth. Shun gently took it and wiped his face. He heaved as he reached over for his cup and drank more water.

Master Daidalos placed a frustrated hand on his temple. "Shun, you picked a random place from a lottery box, and then they sent you away," he then turned around. The Master threw his fist down and tightened it. "Shun, of all the children that have trained under me, not one," he banged his fist into his other gauntlet, "NOT ONE came here under forced pretenses; I certainly do not wish to make you my first." he walked over to Shun and grabbed his shoulders and shook them. "This is your chance!"

Shun dabbed his eyes with the cloth.

"Shun, why don't you leave? If you leave, you don't have to face the hardships of this island. If you think it's hot now, just wait until you reach the desert part. All you've really done today was walk from the pier to here. What will happen to you once you start fighting and the physical training?"

The tears fell harder and faster than before.

He wanted to leave.

The heat in the room alone was making him suffocate and the thought of having to fight for the next six years made him sick to his stomach. He trembled as he held his hands. He could feel the paper, he could hear Tatsumi. He wanted to leave…

**DEATH QUEEN ISLAND!**

…but he must be brave.

"But I don't get the cloth!" He screamed as he held his head so tightly that he ripped a few hairs out. "I won't leave without it!" Shun expected him to counter it. Instead, he looked up and watched the Master place the sword back on the white cloth and handed it all back to him. He sat by the poor boy.

His gauntlets weren't on. He reached for the cloth that he handed him earlier, took it and dabbed his red eyes. "All right," he sighed. "You may stay; but only if you promise me this: You will keep this sword at where you stay. AT ANY TIME, you change your mind, present this to me, and I'll make sure you are off Andromeda Island, and you won't have to fight anymore."

Shun looked down at it and placed the top cover back over. "Okay," he heaved.

He took his hands and placed them on Shun's shoulders. "How do you feel?"

Shun relaxed a little bit. "Better, thank you."

Master Daidalos walked over toward the door, opened it and pointed outside. Shun got up, tucked the box under his arm and then stuck his head out the doorway and peered outside. "Go to the hut closest to here. Your training clothes are there on the bed farthest from the door. I wasn't sure what size you wore. Pick the one that fits best, tell June and she'll get you more. They are probably better suited than what you are wearing right now. There is a book as well. It has all my rules on how you should conduct yourself on the island. I strongly recommend you read it. Shun, you are free to go."

The little boy nodded. "Thank you," he lowered his head and bowed, "Master Daidalos. I'm sorry… I acted…"

The Master shook his head. "Shun, this was a tough choice you had to make. There's no need to apologize. Now, go get changed, you'll feel a hundred times more comfortable when you're wearing something lighter and more suited for this environment. The Pretest Introduction will be in an hour. I'll see you then." He smiled a little bit and waved to Shun.

Shun smiled back. "Thank you for the wooden sword, Master." He exited the hut and headed straight for his destination. He took a moment to look at the simple cabin. He opened the door, and to his delight, he had his own bed, a table, and a chest to put his things inside. Shun gushed a little bit before walking inside. Compared to the orphanage, the room was quiet with nobody screaming or stealing anything. There was plenty of room, and it had the pleasant scent of vanilla and flowers instead of mold and concrete. There were two water pots with dishes next to them with pink chalk hearts on the front of them. There was even a funny poem written in purple chalk on the wall with a brown square to mimic a picture frame. It was the first time he went anywhere and felt a real sense of comfort. Perhaps this was the life that Ikki spoke of before they were orphaned? He wouldn't know since Ikki said he was only a few months before when it happened.

He ran over to his side of the room and instinctively lay on the farthest side. He looked around before he rolled over and spread his arms and legs and stretched them out as far as possible. "My own bed," he grinned. He bobbed his head a little. "My own pillow!" He squeezed it, feeling the softness against his face with the pleasant scent of flowers infused in its cover. Maybe being here, won't be so bad? He reached for his collar and waved it a little bit. He ran to the door to shut it so he could change into his trainer in private. His Master, while a little strange, is a lot nicer than Tatsumi and his guards.

Master Daidalos walked over to his desk and opened the top drawer. Two other freshly written contracts were already inside. He placed Shun's among them and shut it. "Three students, three meetings and none would heed my siren's call." He opened a book, stamped it and set it aside. He then reached over for his golden dagger and placed it back in another drawer. "Athena, thank you."

He shuts it.

**Test of False Freedom**

**Scroll One**

_The Andromeda Cloth requires a heart of sacrifice: a spirit that will unselfishly be devoted more to his/her comrades than themselves. Thus why the Test of False Freedom was born, to create an offer so tempting that if they did possess the qualifications to be the Andromeda Saint than they will always forgo whatever it is then to it give up._

_There is no such thing as a Wooden Sword in the Training System of Athena but was merely a long term test of the Andromeda Bronze Saint. Should your own will prove weak, you will leave Andromeda Island as promised by the King. He will free you of life's troubles, and your body will be tossed from a cliff to the sea below and feed the ever hungry Ring of Poseidon._

_There are limits of course to when the Saint of Cepheus performs the test:_

_-When they arrive_

_-The student has fifteen days of consecutive battle losses: Battle proficiency is essential for a Saint._

_Before the Following Exams:_

_-"The Elysium Leap Pretest"*_

_\- "Queen Cassiopeia's Desert Labyrinth"_

_\- "The Meditation of the Oracle"_

_-"The Court of King Cepheus"_

_-"Princess Andromeda's Sacrifice Ceremony"_

_*Formally known as "The Charge of Perseus"_

_Once the Trainee denies three times, the Saint of Cepheus will yield until the next time one of the conditions stated above had been fulfilled._

_The Test of False Freedom cannot be administered if the Trainee is mentally incapacitated and can only be done while the student is alone._

_Though the siren's call is limited in usage, the Saint of Cepheus is required to gather information to create the perfect song for freedom at his discretion._

_-Erechtheus –_

_Former Alchemist of Mu and Creator of the Andromeda Cloth_

**Chapter 2: First Steps**

**Shun meets his fellow students, and afterward, he is introduced to the Elysium Leap Pretest. After seeing it, he wondered if he'll even make it to the actual training itself.**

**Have you ever felt the true power of your Cosmos?**


	2. 1B: First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shun meets the other children of the island and while he attempts to make a good impression, it doesn't go as well as he thought it would. Not only that, but he also learns about the Pre-test and why most trainees who step on Andromeda Island don't live past one month.

Master Daidalos sat on his wooden chair at his desk. The contents of the manila folder were carefully placed in two piles. One pile had two pages, and the other had thirty-eight. He shook his head. It was all he could do. What was the point of sending all of this to him? He now had two pages with Shun's picture on the front, his physical appearance and family history. The other pile was all censored from top to bottom with a big black marker, especially over the child's combat and cosmos history. In fact, he could tell that whoever did such a thing didn't want him to know those parts due to the dual layer of black ink bleeding through the paper.

It was almost as if they were ashamed of the boy's history. When he shook the child's hand, he could feel no calluses that came with even a child's orphanage training schedule. He saw not one scratch on his body or the faintest hint of a past scar. The Master looked down. There may not be words on his combat skills but by the tiny size of the box indicated that either not a lot of care or not much information was written down. The Cosmos section was even smaller. In fact, it looked as if it was just one word. He had two guesses on what it could be: Good or None. He was leaning more toward the latter.

In the end, it was all guesswork. If he happened to survive the first month, then he would have the right to examine what his skills were first hand. If he died then so will the matter.

At least he had confirmation that Shun was, in fact, a boy, thus one less mask to craft, but one more headache about having a co-ed cabin. But such fears can wait. This was an age of innocence, and unfortunately, this child had all the red flags to indicate he won't make it past thirty days.

He turned back to the small pile of known information. Shun's features were so delicate that it was hard to believe that the image was taken a couple of months before him coming over. He examined the picture further. There was something off about it. It was then he realized that it was the same orange hooded shirt that Shun was wearing when he came here. However, he noticed that where it was cut off, there were parts of what looked like white lettering on it. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite tell what it could be. Then there was the chance that it was all in the Japanese characters in which case he wouldn't be able to read it at all.

He rubbed his temples. He was looking far too deeply into this. He was so frustrated by the pointlessness of what the Kido Foundation sent him that he was attempting to nitpick with what little there was in the Family History Section. That one line was far more perplexing than anything from the big pile. The top two lines were normal by Trainee standards since nearly everyone was an orphan.

**Family**

**Mother: Kai Amamiya ** _ **[DECEASED]** _

**Father: ** _ **[UNKNOWN]** _

Then there was the line on Shun's sibling:

**Brother: ** _ **Ikki Amamiya [DECEASED]*** _

His blue eyes shifted toward the footnote.

_ ***Pending- Tokumaru Tatsumi** _

It was a strange footnote and oddly enough, the man who put it in there personally signed the sheet with a black pen as if he was proud of it. "Pending," he whispered it. He shook his head once more. "They make it sound like the boy's brother was floating between life and death."

**O|==========|O**

**Love You, Kill Me**

**Part One: The Chain Gang of Andromeda Island**

**Chapter Two: First Steps**

**O|==========|O**

Shun threw on the light blue trainer and pants. His sweaty hooded orange shirt and khakis were carefully folded by the side of his bed. He wasn't quite sure where to put them at since they needed to be washed. He stretched his arms, feeling his body breath for the first time since coming here.

It was still pretty hot in the room, but he felt a lot better. It was very loose around the chest areas but snug around the right spots to keep it from impeding any movement. The sleeves were a little long and reached a little past his elbows, but he really liked the color. Besides, he could always roll them up. Shun took his hands and ruffled his green hair a bit, attempting to dry the sweat from it. He then heard someone knocking at the door. "Hello? Can I come in?" a voice rang out. Shun ran over and opened the wooden door.

June, the masked blond girl from earlier, walked inside holding several light pink chains in her hands. "The Master said you'd be in here. I'm so glad you decided to stay!" she chirped as she placed the massive wad of metal and links on the floor by her bed.

"Uh huh!" he watched her sit back on her bed before lying down. She lifted her mask at an odd angle, keeping her face hidden from view but enough to vent a little air on her face. Shun looked at her. She looked like she was going to throw up earlier. "Are you feeling better, June?" He asked as he walked over to her mask to lift it up and check to see if she was pale. "Are you hot?"

June's hand snapped his wrist but then politely pushed it away. Shun blinked as he cautiously backed off. June laid her mask back over her face. "I'm alright, now. Thanks for asking."

He felt a little embarrassed. Did he do something wrong? He searched around the room before pointing to the water pot and cups. "Would you like some water?"

Usually, a quick trip to the desert didn't bother her, but she was in such a hurry to get away from the meeting that she forgot to get her leather water satchel back. "Water does sound good." Shun smiled and rushed to the pot to gather some water for her. Underneath her mask, she raised an eyebrow. It was a little odd that he would try something so disrespectful as to pull off an Amazon's mask himself. Most of the time, she'd only have to deal with it when the Ekdromos, or the infantry, come over for Spring Training.

_Go ahead, little girl… kill me. Ah… can't do it, can you? Nah… you're too weak…_

_You could love me… we have another night before we leave for Sanctuary…._

It's not a coincidence that after she told the Master, they shipped out the next day with one less door guard.

But Shun didn't seem like the type of boy to try something like that. Shun was at least head shorter than she was and with the ferocity of a dandelion. The Master didn't think he was too bad either.

_He was a little emotional and very nervous. I don't blame him after what Saul told me what they did to him at the harbor. When he wasn't crying, he seemed like a very kind boy. I think you'll like him._

Shun held out the water for her. He gently placed it in her hands and politely smiled as he watched her sit up, tilt her mask and take a big long drink.

June finished her cup and handed it back to him. She placed her finger by her chin, "Shun, I'm an Amazon," Shun's green eyes stared blankly. He didn't seem to know much about the blood contract, and it didn't hurt to ask. "Do you know what an Amazon is?"

Shun thought about it for a moment. In class, he knew that Tatsumi talked very briefly about Amazons. His description of them was that they hated men and to fire an arrow better, they cut off their right breast. But she seemed quite kind to him, and if she hung around the Master as Saul had said, she must not be a man hater either. Not only that, but both of her bumps seemed perfectly intact or at least what little there is there was, "not really."

It was a fairly basic fact but she didn't mind. She's heard some idiotic things over the past three years including one person asking what month Andromeda represented in the Zodiac.

June scooted over and patted a spot for Shun to sit at. He came over to her right side and squeezed his body as if he had no room and looked innocently at her.

June angled her body at him and placed her hands on her lap. "An Amazon is just a girl who wants to train as a saint. Does that sound familiar?" The boy nodded but only a little bit. He still had a look of confusion on his face. "Tradition states that only men can become a Saint. Women may also attain the role of Sainthood by rejecting their feminine gender and role. We actually have a creed that must be memorized:

_Sealed my memories of when I was a daughter,_

_Prevents me from being a sister,_

_Can only be removed when I become a lover,_

_Should the man not hold my heart,_

_My eyes will reflect a killer_.

"Therefore, if someone saw our face, like what you almost did, we would have to kill them if we didn't love them."

Shun flinched. That sounds so horrible! "Why would you kill them if they see you? My brother said that Daddy didn't love Mommy, but she didn't kill him, and everything is still okay." He then shied away from her. "But then again, she isn't an Amazon." He then looked away. He wasn't really good with debating.

Ikki, on the other hand, was a master at it. Although every time he won, Tatsumi would throw him in the discipline room. He may not be able to argue, but he did know that if you make a mistake, you should apologize for it. He cupped his hands and looked straight into her mesh-covered eyes. "I'm sorry for trying to lift your mask up. I don't want to force you to love me or kill me."

She reached over and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, I figured that you didn't mean to. Although I will admit, I think it's an outdated rule that made sense back during the Dark Ages of Ancient Greece but is only enforced today due to tradition." She tilted her head. "Is your father still alive?"

Shun shifted his eyes, "I don't know, I hope he is." He always wondered if he'll come back one more time just like the last time before he was born.

The room was oddly quiet. June wasn't sure what to say. It was painful to talk about family at a Training Ground when everyone was an orphan. It was probably for the best that they changed topics before they talk about something that made them both uncomfortable. Her eyes hunted for something else to talk about. She then spotted the familiar brown leather-bound book that the Master leaves out for the new trainees. "Shun have you read the rule book yet?"

"Not yet. I was busy trying on trainers," he widened his eyes and raised a finger. He almost forgot. "Oh, I wear a size Kappa for the top, and Iota for my pants."

"Oh good, we got plenty of those. I'll make sure to get you more by tomorrow morning." She reached down from under her bed and produced a piece of yellow chalk. She had a small white square on the wall that she used to make notes for herself as well as little reminders. She wrote down the sizes next to two other sets of letters. She then stood up and headed to Shun's bed. "We should cover the rules though, they are very important here. We have some time before the Pretest Introduction starts."

She lifted the book but turned to the familiar wooden blade that was lying outside its container. She placed it back in what she nicknamed, Pandora's Shoe Box. "Shun, you should try to keep this thing closed. Don't leave it open in here." She took her hand and slammed the top on it. She went back over to Shun, sat down, and began to unravel the hemp string of the book cover. "If you have any questions, just ask me, and I'll help clear them up."

Spica and Leda sat together on a bed. Leda held his Wooden Sword in his right hand while Spica kept his in his box. They arrived this morning and were told that a third student would be coming much later. After hearing an unfamiliar voice earlier, they could only assume it was them. They were told to remain in here until after their meeting was complete since it was possible that the child may have to leave right away.

_"I know I told you already, but I'll remind you again, Spica. While I do admire your loyalty to your brother, you must understand that on this island, there will be times of combat in which I will pit student against student. There is only one Andromeda Bronze and…"_

_"But a Maiden told me that this place had so many cloths that some were transferred to other countries. Now that I'm here can't I go after one of those?"_

_"It does, but we shouldn't talk of other cloths now, should we? I mean, you came here to try for the Andromeda cloth and therefore you should continue the path of Andromeda unless the stars dictate another road for you."_

_Spica slowly nodded in agreement. "Is it true?"_

_"Is what true?" the Master asked._

_"That hardly anyone survives the first test here."_

_"Yes. However, that is what the wooden sword is for. Rather than take the awful risk of dying in a test, you could, if you choose to, give the wooden sword to me, and you can leave this place."_

"I can't believe he actually gave these to us," Leda grumbled, interrupting Spica's thoughts.

Spica shrugged his shoulders and chucked the box on his table. "Leda, why are you so worried? I mean, if this turned out to be as bad as the Maidens say it was, then we have a free ticket out of here!" Spica stood up and stretched his arms before readjusting his dark blue trainer. He turned his grayish blue eyes toward his sibling. "Seriously, this is a good thing."

Leda swung his wooden blade around the air and twirling it around as if he had a pencil in his hand before returning it to his own box. He then reached into his rose colored hair and adjusted his white bandana around his head, so it wasn't pressing against his thin sharply angled eyebrows. "I don't think so."

Spica cocked his blue hair and turned to Leda. "What do you mean? You heard Maiden Merope; trainees who survived were made Saints instead of guards."

Leda swung his feet, stood up before Spica and poked his index at him. "IF you survive." He pulled it away and threw his hands on his hips. "If getting off here was that easy then why does this place hold the second highest first-month trainee death record? That doesn't make sense!" Leda watched his brother head back to his bed and laid back down. Spica had a bad habit of 'not giving a shit' anytime he couldn't think of an answer.

Leda tilted his head toward the door. When the sound of two high pitched voices grew louder, he ran to the door and cracked it open. "The girls look like they're heading out. Come on," he reached down and pulled Spica up. The two ran in unison as they headed for the unofficial meeting point. Right next to the Master's hut was a small bonfire area. Five huge rocks were placed around with two trainees already claiming the two on the far left.

Spica looked over and pointed to the green-haired and clearly "unmasked" child. He snickered before Leda smacked him. Spica rubbed his arm, but he didn't care. "You said it, not me," he ragged as he claimed the rock next to June.

Leda claimed the last rock. He eyed the only other competition on the island. The other trainee didn't even look like he could do a push-up. He was much smaller than the rest of them while his doe green eyes looked like some stupid plush doll that little Japanese girls carried around. Suddenly, everyone turned to the back, and he followed suit.

Master Daidalos exited his hut and headed for the bonfire to initiate the Pretest Introduction. "Welcome everyone. I am pleased to see that you had all decided to stay at my home, and I hope you will continue to persevere until the day that one of you will take the sacred bronze cloth of my dear daughter, Andromeda or any other cloth that this Island holds."

Spica's elbow knocked against Leda's. Leda just sat there and kept his focus on the Master as he strolled over to a water pot to the side. He carried it closer to the others while June got up quickly to gather several cups, a pitcher and a ladle. After filling the pitcher and filling the cups to pass around, he went to the biggest rock and sat on it; resting his thick armguards on his blue plated thighs.

Before he'd go over the details on their pretest, he always asked the students to introduce their names, their orphanage, other languages and maybe a fact or two about themselves.

Shun was surprised that Leda and Spica were also Japanese since their Greek was exceptional. Although he could speak it correctly, they not only matched the speed but the dialect as well. His was still a little choppy. Apparently, they were both from the House of Tenma, a Sanctuary sponsored orphanage, and it showed. Leda had a thinner frame than Spica, but Spica seemed to better built. They were pretty big too with Leda being taller than even June. They were both brief and sat down quickly.

June was next. Some of it, she already told him, but he still listened. June was born in Ethiopia but had lived on the island all of her life. She was on her third year but chose the nine-year, rather than the six-year, path to become a Bronze-Level Trainer that allowed non-Golds and Silvers, like the Crystal Saint, to train and find owners for Cloths. Much like any future Saint that is stationed in Africa, French is required, but she picked up Spanish from the Master. After hearing the two other trainees, for some reason, Shun was paying more attention to June's pronunciation. Unsurprisingly, her Greek was quite good when compared to Leda's and Spica's. It also sounded quite pleasant and almost musical as she introduced herself. She took a drink and then pointed over to the gloriously round fifteen-foot high rock with her cup and free pinky. "Don't forget, that is my Sunning Rock, and if you push it, you bring it back!"

Spica slowly raised his hand and stood up. "What's a Sunning Rock?"

Shun nodded in agreement. That's what he wanted to know as well.

"It's where I meditate, perform some training exercises and stretch on. I refer to it as my Sunning Rock because chameleons like to sun themselves. It takes great balance due to how round it is. However, everyone tries to push it, so please, if you could, don't." She gave a sharp nod before she sat back down on her rock.

Leda, Spica and Shun all began to stare at the perfectly round Sunning Rock and then at the steep hill that led from the Living Area straight down to the beach below. It was so round and shiny that it resembled a giant marble. Spica raised his hand again. "Can't we do it just one time?"

"No!" She then gestured over to Shun.

Shun looked around. "Could you go ahead, Master? I'm not ready yet."

The Master obliged and stood up. He was picked up in Argentina and was transferred to the Gift of Aaron, the Sanctuary sponsored orphanage of Italy. His Greek was unsurprisingly the best of all of them even if he slowed it down. Shun already knew he spoke French and Spanish. He then found out he knew a little bit of Italian to get around and recently picked up some Somali due to the increase in pirates around the area.

Like all Silvers, he received three years of universal training at Sanctuary under the House of Taurus. Spica asked what he did there. "Seven days a week, for four hours straight, I trained or rather I was smashed around by the biggest, strongest, and all around nicest Brazilian you would ever meet," his face twisted in pain as he began to recall all the times he was thrown into the air, and choke slammed into a crater. "There were many days that I really wished I was a Virgo back then."

"Why is that, Master?" asked June. She thought he was quite proud of his tough Taurus blood.

He shrugged once more, "I guess it was because you get to sit under a peaceful tree all day."

Leda placed his hands on his hips. "That sounds boring."

Shun felt like he hadn't said much. "Is it a nice tree?"

The Master thought about it. "Yes, I've heard it is quite nice. Supposedly, if you die as the Virgo Saint, you get to sit between two trees instead of one."

Leda rolled his eyes at the Master's sarcasm. The Virgo Saint was probably stupid if all he did was sit under a damn tree all day, meditating.

Shun looked up as he thought of the Master's words. The Virgo Saint was probably wise if all he did was sit under a beautiful tree all day, meditating.

The Master looked at the sky. Shun didn't have a turn yet, and if they don't leave soon, they'll be caught in the below freezing temperatures of the night. He quickly finished off with telling his students that he received his Cloth when he first came to the island but had to work up to wearing the whole thing. "Shun, you hadn't said anything yet, why don't tell everyone a little bit about yourself?"

He was a little bashful at that moment. Even after the Master's long history, he still wasn't sure what to say. Everyone's Greek seemed far more fluent than anything he heard at the orphanage, and if he was a little more sociable, he could be considered one of the better speakers of the language. Maybe he could tell them about how Shiryu, Jabu and he were all on TV? Gosh, everyone's eyes were gazing on him.

Then there was the other thing that bothered him even more so after the Master spoke. No one talked about their families; even Leda and Spica whom June already mentioned were related. He thought that maybe he could tell them all about his brother. It's as if life for all of them started the second they became orphans of the Sanctuary except for June. It was almost like she was actually born into the path toward Sainthood.

Perhaps it wasn't the time to tell them about Ikki? He could always talk about it later; it isn't like any of them were going to leave the place soon. "I'm Shun, Shun Amamiya. I'm from the Kido Orphanage, and I speak Greek, Japanese, and English." It was a lot shorter than what he originally planned, but he didn't mind. His butt came down and just as his seat made contact with the smooth rock surface, Spica raised his hand.

"What's your Greek name?"

Shun held his position until he lost his balance and fell on the rock before getting straight back up, "my what?"

Leda looked up. "Your Greek name, my old name was Hayato Ishida," he then pointed to Spica, "and he was Hisato but you give it up to show you are truly dedicating yourself for Athena's cause and beliefs."

Shun shrugged. Was his name that bad? "But, I like my name, my Mommy gave me my name," he held his hands together. None of the other kids at the orphanage changed their names, and the Master made no mention of this. "Do I have to give it up?" Shun felt his blood grow hot at the thought of losing his name. "It's the only thing I have of her," aside from the pendant. However, it was still just a material object. His name, on the other hand, was something that his mother personally picked out for him out of love.

Luckily for him, June shook her head no. "You don't have to, but it's often looked down upon." It was one of those practices that much like how a woman must give up her feminine identity to become a Saint, most Saints outside of Greece would give up their old names to show loyalty to Greek tradition.

The Master continued. "It has died down since the number of International Saints outnumbers those of Grecian birth. However, the purists would often give trouble to those who hold non-Greek names saying they lacked devotion to the culture and Athena. Of course, none of us have to worry about that over here now, do we?"

A collective nod followed before Shun stood up. "I will keep my Japanese name," he spoke proudly before he timidly faced his teacher. "Is that alright, Master Daidalos?"

"Shun, why are you asking me? You just made the decision yourself," he dryly pointed out.

He almost slapped himself. He so used to Ikki confirming things for him that it carried over to the island. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he grabbed his own fingers and started to pull at them before planting himself back on his rock.

"Don't worry about it, if you keep your name that's fine, if you change your mind, that's fine too. Is there anything else you want to tell us or should we go on to the details of the Pretest?"

Shun shook his head. "No, that's it."

"Very well," he turned to June, and she quietly got up. She headed back to her hut and brought back half of the lightly glowing pink chains that she had collected earlier. Master Daidalos raised his hands, and all of them stood up. He reached over and grabbed a long line of chains and held it before the trio. "As part of your Pretest, you will be chained together for one month starting tomorrow. However, to give you a feel of what that is like, I want you to take a walk with me wearing them tonight. Stand in a line, present your arms and spread your feet so that June can attach all of you together."

Shun, Leda, and Spica looked at each other as they did what they were told. June carried her chain over. She grabbed Spica's right arm and Leda's left until Master Daidalos grabbed her shoulder.

"June, I don't want the brothers next to each other. Switch them."

June nodded once and pulled Shun into the middle. She then wrapped the chain around Leda's right and Shun's left. She took the chain and started to squeeze the links until they fused together.

"How?" Shun replied as he brought his hand and Leda's up to his face to get a closer look. It was almost as if she created a set of cuffs as he stared at the twisted little wad. "June what…" Shun didn't have time to finish.

"She just used her external Cosmos, something like that is not that hard," muttered Leda as he rolled his eyes and pulled Shun's hand down.

Shun thought it looked neat.

**O|=====|O**

The Master grabbed three containers of water attached to the sides of his hip guards and placed each one around their necks in case they got thirsty. "The way to the Elysium Cliffs is fairly simple. We'll be following the edge of the desert." Master Daidalos examined their chains, taking his thumb to correct any air bubbles. After that, he headed over toward a sandy path. "Follow me. Since there are three of you, walking in unison will be much harder than those who attempted this in the past. If you all try to be considerate of one another, find your pace then you should have an easy walk." June ran by his side, and the two headed to the desert. The trio looked at each other and attempted to move.

June and her Master kept turning back with each little bicker that the boys made. Leda on the left was too far forward; Spica wasn't fast enough while Shun looked like he was being dragged on one side and pulled on the other. Shun whimpered as he started to hop on his lead foot while Spica's hand made him elevate his other arm and leg from the ground.

He felt as if he was being stretched all over the place and sometimes Spica would stop for water and Leda would move on forcing his body to scrunch up briefly before being twisted around and pulled from the other side. He couldn't even reach for his water when he needed to, and right now after fifteen minutes, he was becoming terribly thirsty. He thought the air was dry around the living area, but it felt like his skin was drying up with every step and layers of his throat were peeling away every time he swallowed. He feels bits of moisture under his chains. He didn't want to complain, but he really didn't have a choice. "Leda, please, can you slow down?" cried Shun as his wrist was starting to bleed from the fiery redhead's pace.

June walked a little slower and began to concentrate her cosmos to speak to her Master telepathically.

"_Master, shouldn't we stop for them?"_

"_No. If they wish to survive, they'll need to deal with these issues themselves."_

The Master continued to move forward. June ran in front of him causing him to slow his pace.

"_Master, you said you'd show some leniency. You said yourself that you've never attempted this test with three before."_

"_I did, and I am a man of my word. However, the only task I am asking of them right now is to walk from point A to point B. I don't think I'm asking much out of them right now. What will happen when it becomes more complicated later?"_

June turned back as Spica stopped causing Shun to jerk toward him while half his body was being pulled by Leda. She reached over and grabbed his wrist. _"Please?_ _Master, I'm tired of students dying on us."_

Death was always the hardest thing to deal with when one chooses the path of finding others for the cloth. He looked down with his gentle blue eyes.

"_...June… If it makes you feel better…"_

She smiled under her mask. The only way he knew this was that she always tilted her mask oh so slightly to indicate to others that she was.

"_It does…"_

He stopped and turned his head toward the bumbling trio. "June, fix their chains, I'll have a talk with them."

She jogged over as Spica and Shun hobbled over beside Leda. She checked their chains and shook them a little after she noticed Shun's was twisted up quite a bit. Shun was crying as he was attempting to pull his hands at the water and desperately tried to get the drink that he craved since leaving the bonfire area.

Master Daidalos spent a little time, absorbing what he saw and turned his bright blue eyes toward the one causing the trouble. He approached Leda and leaned over to his ear. "If you wish to live past thirty days, you may consider showing a little respect for your brother and comrade; less haste, more speed."

Leda sighed before bowing his head, "yes, Master Daidalos." He took out his water and drank as Shun and Spica were guzzling down their satchels.

The Master then moved to Shun. "Shun, you're the middle man. You dictate the pace. They walk when you do. They don't control you; you control them, step up and take charge."

Shun wiped his face and nodded quickly. "Yes, Master."

He then moved toward Spica. For a boy who liked to talk a lot during the introduction, he expected him to be the communicator of the shy trio. "Spica, for Athena's sake, please warn the others of your actions prior hand, you'll fall less."

Spica turned away and drank his water. "Yes, Master, whatever you say!" he spoke in between guzzles.

As they stood there, a small cloud of dust began to fill the air. The Master and his chain gang all turned toward the Nebula Temple. Out of the opening of the shiny, round, black half-sphere was sand that was being thrown outside. The boys all began to huddle together, not knowing if there was a stranger in the building or an oversized cat in a litter box. June ran to the door before leaping to the side to dodge a sizeable flying stone.

"June, get back here, we need to keep going," the Master shouted. June went back to his side, and everyone moved on. The Andromeda Cloth probably felt their presences and was trying to garner attention. However, they were on a strict time schedule to get back before night, and the Princess must wait.

As the group continued, Master Daidalos and June had to stop numerous times whenever their little chain gang lost their pace. What should've been a simple one hour walk to the Elysium Cliffs took more than two and a half. However, they have improved. They attempted to stay in a line, and while they kept getting off pace every third step, it did make the walk a little more comfortable.

The group finally arrived at the location. On the ground was the symbol of Andromeda carved beautifully into the ground. There were five equally flat oval cliffs all in line with the exception of the last one: it was round. Two cliffs on either side stood about twenty feet away. On one side of the two cliffs were several crosses at each side with a strange pattern. In the beginning, the crosses were placed in pairs. The first one had quite a few pairs, after that the second and third only had a couple. However, it seemed like the one in between the fourth and fifth one had the most sets. With one cross at the very end labeled "Talus." Beside each one of these crosses was a round rock with a pink chalk flower next to them.

The Master turned toward Shun's sad face. The other two were looking at the test; Shun looked as if he was reading the names on the crosses. "Is this as far as they went?" the little boy muttered.

The Master calmly answered "yes, but be grateful for your short stature, Shun, for my height permits me to see beyond your line of sight, for every row represents a year. Beyond that row are rows and rows of those from my time as King. Beyond the tenth row are rows and rows of those who bore the weight of my Cloth before me." Shun saw a memorial and him, a cemetery.

Before Shun had time to reflect on the Master's words, his teacher walked past them and stood before the first ledge and placed his hands on his hips. "Before one's training can begin, a Pretest must be initiated. Every training ground has one, for example, in Siberia, one must carry the cub of a mother polar bear and avoid her warm maternal mitts for ten minutes."

Leda raised his hand. "Do they still have Himalaya?"

June shook her head. "No, they freed her recently. The new bear they have is called Pokey. The Crystal Saint said that Pokey is FULL of love for her cubs!"

"Kids, can I finish?"

Leda and June bowed their heads. "Sorry, Master."

"Thank you," Master Daidalos then pointed out the wooden pole that June forced into the ground earlier. "At the very end, are your offensive ends for your training, and as part of your pretest, you must retrieve them as a group within a month. Between each of the four cliffs is five feet. The last one is eight. Before you ask, yes, I'm sure most of you can do it alone." his hand dropped, the Star end rolled off his arm a little. "However, that is not the point of this exercise. You all will work as one, and you will either die together or live together. You will either live another thirty days or maybe six years." He raised an eyebrow than placed his hands to his sides. "I strongly suggest aiming for the second option."

Spica reached over and wiggled the chains enticing the group to follow his lead and approach the ledge. The all slowly knelt down to look how high they were. There were actually strange streaks on the sides along with a small brown-stained ledge where several claw marks crisscrossed.

"Careful guys, we actually lost one group doing that on the first day!" June cried as she came up, took her whip, encircled Shun and pulled all three of them back, dragging their bottoms on the ground. She released her grasp and quickly rolled her weapon back up, "if you wish to know, it's exactly fifty feet."

Spica turned toward the Master. "Are you nuts?"

The Master quietly shrugged. "Fifty feet, five feet, if you fall and hit the ground before collecting your chain end I'll still fail you. I suggest the only measurements you should preoccupy yourselves with are the distance between the gorges and not how deep they run in between. For this test, I want to see what you all are capable on your own as well as how you work together and how you will prepare," he then eyed Leda, "how you treat each other starting tomorrow, from the time you get up to when you go to sleep. When the day comes for you to perform your Pretest, I will not be on the Elysium Cliff, but June will be a witness on test day. Remember that." he then softened up a bit. "This concludes your introduction," he walked up to them and clapped once sending a shockwave toward the boys.

Instinctively, Shun shut his eyes and turned his head away. The chains shattered. All the sharp metal shards that would've flown at the children's faces suddenly transformed into harmless iron marbles and merely plummet from their arms and legs and tumbled to the ground. They bounced a few times and then fell like rain into the depths of the Elysium crevices below, lightly illuminating the sides of the gorge with a gentle rose hue. His eyes shifted back and forth from the falling, fading drops of light to the speechless expression of Leda and Spica. Now he understood why Leda brushed off June's demonstration of her cosmos; that was nothing in comparison to the Master's, and he wasn't sure if that took any effort from him at all.

The Master went down on one knee until his eyes were at the same level as the three children. "Today, you three had just experienced a few hours of what it will be like for the next thirty days. Tonight, you will have time to contemplate whether or not you wish to endure this long pretest. Don't forget, I only need at least two to perform it. I'll be in my hut, and perhaps we can talk about it. Tomorrow, June will reattach whoever chooses to stay, and the rest may present their wooden sword. It's your choice."

Leda looked up. "Master Daidalos, will we do any other forms of training?"

The Master shook his head. "I," he paused "will not be training you instead, starting tomorrow. I will be doing nothing but observing all of you."

Leda folded his now free arms. "That's weird; why can't you train us at least part of the time? Is being chained up that much of a problem?" It was odd that a trainer would wait thirty days for a test and thirteen more for the break. Besides, he could even just give verbal history lessons.

June turned her head away. "Leda, don't question it. Besides, why are you upset that you'll get a lot of free time for a while?"

The Master felt the need to provide some answers. "Leda, I use to do it, but three years ago, I stopped. I have my reasons that I cannot disclose. Besides, if you all intend to do this test, you will need the extra time to practice."

Shun scratched the back of his head and looked at his wrists. The top layer of his skin was sore to the touch while small cuts were present around them. He wondered if he'll have hands by the time thirty days was up.


	3. 1C: Be As Two, Move As Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shun bonds a bit with the Master, who helps him figure out a plan to somehow not die from the Elysium Leap.

The sun was beginning to set. It was hard to believe that Shun had just arrived in the afternoon and the day was almost over. Before he was sweating like there was no tomorrow. Now he was starting to feel chilly. His moist sky blue trainer made things worse. The trip back physically was a piece of cake. Moving at his own pace without having two people pull him in two different directions felt so good.

Mentally it had been a nightmare. Shun's thoughts from the time he was introduced to the five cliffs to now had been filled with dread, fear, and guilt. The distance between may have not been too far, but any failure between him and any of the other two boys would end his quest for the cloth and break the promise with his brother.

The path of earning a cloth was so brief for so many.

Some came close, like Talus, on the final cliff. He already knew how long their training lasted: thirty days and no more. Some didn't make it past the first leap and according to June, two never made it past the first day.

He could easily do the jumps himself. Back at the orphanage, he may have been a punching bag during wrestling and sparring, but he adored his trampoline and field track. Field day Thursday was always his favorite. He ran faster than anyone and could do all sorts of tricks when he could bounce. It was only on those days when his brother would be beside him cheering him on. Not as a way to bring up his spirits but because he was the best that day. It was those days when he actually felt strong, free and proud. He loved to jump and run. It was that Thursday of every week that made him forget the endless tears he'd cry and the bruises he would take.

"Go Shun!" Ikki would shout to him as he attempted to keep up with his little brother. Poor Ikki, he would have to slow down so that way he had the thrill of his big brother beside him. He loved Ikki, and he loved Thursday.

But today wasn't Thursday nor did it feel like it. He was really good at running and jumping and thought he not only made a wrong impression with his new Master, but with the two he'd have to pass the test or die trying. Ikki told him about the importance of making a good impression. Well, he did okay up until they chained him up.

He cried on the way there, and everyone was silent on the way back except for one word. When Leda passed him on the way into his hut, he mouthed a word that Shun was all too familiar with at the orphanage.

_Crybaby_

Shun looked down at the door handle before him, "so much for a fresh start."

**O|==========|O**

**Love You, Kill Me**

**Part One: The Chain Gang of Andromeda Island**

**Chapter 3: Be as Two, Move as Three**

**O|==========|O**

Shun threw on his oversized orange hoodie. The sweat that it was covered in had dried and provided an additional source of warmth making him relieved he brought it in the first place. He still couldn't believe that as they came back to the Living Area, the air became so chilly that his breath fogged with each one he made. The rocks had a layer of frost that made them glitter like diamonds in the rough. He'd probably appreciate it more if he wasn't shivering so much.

June knocked at the door and came inside. "Hey Shun," she chimed as she carried a pan to wash her hands at. "What are you doing in here by yourself?"

Shun looked up and smiled. "Hi!" he waved as got off his bed and stood up. "I just wanted to warm up, that's all. It's so cold!"

June peeled her leather white gloves off and set them aside. "It's normal. Actually, unlike a lot of other places, the weather is predictable over here. The Master said that's probably the only positive thing about the Ring of Poseidon. If such a God was going to create a grand curse over the island, then a set schedule should be put into place. The Master and I can even tell you what day and what time it will rain." She then took a step aside. "Shun, the water is warm right now, would you like to wash your hands too?"

He immediately nodded and headed by her side. The chains and sand made his hands and arms filthy and dry, but he didn't know if he should use the water from the pots or not. He placed them in and for a moment was surprised that the water was indeed quite warm. He then remembered her melting the links and then he sank both his palms till they pressed against the pan and the heat that radiated from it. "Cosmos?" he asked. She nodded and touched the side of it. He almost purred as he felt the pan warm up beneath his hands. It was so lovely that he wished he could climb into it like a warm bath.

However, he shouldn't play around with June's generosity. He reached over for a bar of pale white soap, and he began to scrub around his fingers. As he lathered his hands, he then raised it to his nose and curiously smelled his palm. He was wondering where the scent of vanilla came from. His hands then worked their way to his arms until his body flinched as he rubbed the spots where the chains were.

June looked down and grabbed his wet hands. She reached for a white cotton cloth and began to dab the area dry. His skin was covered with several rashes where the chains were as well as bits of white flakes that had cut and pulled a layer of skin off. "Shun, why didn't you tell anyone about this? Come on, you're going to the Master." She pulled him once causing him to follow.

He locked up his knees in to place and stiffened his body, "No! It's okay, I'll be fine," but her Amazonian strength and a slick spot where the floorboards wore down merely caused the boy just to slide around as if he had wheels beneath his feet. "June, please stop dragging me."

She halted and complied with his request but still, she waggled her finger. "Shun, you can't let something like this heal without at least treating it. I remember we had to amputate a student's foot because he stepped on a rusty broken chain link on the beach and didn't tell us. It won't even take that long," June felt her stomach rumble. She was sure everyone else was the same. "Listen, I need to get back out there, I have to go and prepare dinner for all of us. Please go see him." She reached over for her pan of water and headed back outside.

Shun looked down. He began to pick a bit of skin off. They did hurt a lot, but he didn't want to appear any weaker than he already does. But, what if June was right and they got infected? After tonight, he'll go back to being chained up. Then he won't have a chance to take care of it. Even after they stopped during the introduction, Spica did have the habit of slowing down. He could tell. He raised his hands out and compared the two. The side with Leda was mainly red, but Spica's was all cut up with several streaks where the metal rubbed hard.

_Crybaby_

That was the word he saw Leda mouthed out. Even if he wasn't facing him at the time, he knew it was toward him. At least he didn't say it out loud. Maybe he didn't say it, and it was just his imagination? He paced himself around the room. He really needed to talk to the two of them. June and the Master welcomed him to the island, but Leda and Spica didn't even stop over by the hut. Tomorrow, they'll all be together for a month, and he didn't want to befriend them while all of them were grumpy and miserable.

He'll figure out something, but first, he should pray to Mommy while everyone was busy doing something. He reached over for the candle and placed it on the floor. He knelt in front of it and pulled out his Silver Star pendant. Maybe his wrists needed to be tended to, but his promise to Ikki to always pray for Mommy comes first.

**O|=====|O**

Spica held his blue head of hair as he did his best to calm down. "Fifty feet…" he kept repeating. "There's no way anyone can survive a fall from fifty feet!" his hands slid down from his temples to his cheeks. "No way!" He saw how far the metal marbles traveled. They were like stars that illuminated the air before giving into darkness. So fleeting and bleak and he had the suspicion that that was the way their bodies will tumble as the meet and kiss every rock until they too meet the ground and permeate the air with the dust of the soils below and the life that leaves them. "Oh my god, we're so going to die!"

"SPICA!" Leda snapped. He was sick of his sibling's pessimistic wails. "Shut up, you're going to make me nervous too." He headed straight for the water and dished out two cups. "Here, get some water, you need to drink."

Spica stared listlessly at the cup. He had never drunk so much water in a day in his life, "isn't there anything else to drink?"

Leda shoved it toward him. "Come on, I don't want to see you passing out in the middle of the desert." Spica was always a bit on the picky side when it came to nutrition. He knew if he didn't like something, he'd do his best to avoid it even if it was important. The only time he actually saw him drink up was on the way to the Elysium Leap. He watched as his brother eyed the glass and hesitantly sipped the cup as if he was drinking from a coffee stirrer. Maybe it was slow, but at least he was getting it in his system.

Spica stopped once he reached the halfway point in his cup. "So what do you think of the other trainee?"

Leda sat beside Spica and shrugged. "I don't know, he didn't even say much. God, I've never seen anyone cry so much in short amount of time."

_I want water!_

_I'm thirsty!_

_Stop! You're too fast!_

Leda's fingers moved near his hair and raked them close to his temples. "His voice is so irritating! He sounded more like a girl than June!" He then jerked his head over to causing his brother to meet his gaze. "I can't believe the Master was stupid enough to even think about putting him in the middle!" Leda shifted his eyes. He could've done so much better than that floppy little cabbage head could. He was confident that they wouldn't have wasted so much time if he was doing his job instead of squirming around demanding shit like he was a prince.

Spica stared at his cup and thought diligently. "You heard the Master, he doesn't want us together. Besides, he could quit thus relieving us of any trouble." He took his clay cup and gestured it over. "Do you want the rest of my water?"

Leda snatched it. At least he got him to drink half of it. In one quick swig, he finished it off and then placed both glasses to the side. "That would be good. It would mean one less person competing for the Andromeda Cloth…"

Spica raised a brow, "…not that the little shit had a chance."

**O|=====|O**

"…and God, please take care of all the people here, take care of June, Master Daidalos, Leda and Spica, Yours Ever, Amen."

He kissed his pendant and shoved it back into his training shirt. He tucked the chain and then carried the candle back over to the door. He blew out the flame and set it down by the entrance so that June will be able to find it quicker.

His nose than raised up toward the air and he attempted to smell the pleasant aroma of boiling meat. He opened the door and was instantly drawn to the boiling pot over the fire. June poked the wood allowing the red embers to swirl and bloom around before dying out.

"June, it looks so good! What are you making?"

June turned toward her hut-mate. "Chicken and vegetable soup," she quickly backed off from the smoke and wiped the condensation all over her mask. "It still needs a little bit of time." She looked at his hungry eyes and waved her large wooden spoon at him. "However, you aren't getting one drop of it till you get your wrists taken care of."

He gave a deep bow. "Sorry!" Shun speeded over toward the Master's hut and shifted his attention by the door. A brass oil lantern with a lit wick inside was hanging from a hook. According to the book of rules, it was just a signal at night to indicate that he wasn't asleep and they were free to come in. His green eyes rolled up toward the center of the door. His tiny fist rose up toward the center of the wooden door, and he proceeded to knock on it three times. "Hello," he touched the smooth grain with his fingers and leaned forward, "Master?"

"Come in."

The boy nodded and proceeded on through. To his surprise, the Master was actually out of his cloth and in his light violet trainer. It looked like his own, but the sleeves were gone, and he had his trainer tucked in. His hair was even pulled back, wrapped with a long strip of white cloth. Even without the armor, his muscles were quite large and pronounced. Strangely enough, he didn't have any candles. Instead, his Silver box, where he kept his armor, illuminated the room. He was sure it did not do that the last time he was there.

"Maybe during the day, the box was not so bright, but at night it shines like a star?" he thought. Shun then noticed that a heavy leather cloth that was folded behind it. His guessed it was used to cover his Pandora's box so he could sleep.

He stood up from his bed and placed the half-carved stone and a small chisel down on his Pandora's box. "Shun, what can I help you with?" his words were softer now. He looked down as Shun pulled his large orange sleeves up and showed him his wrists.

Shun personally didn't think they were that bad. But he dare not test June's warning of holding back the chicken. He was hoping that if he arrived there first, he could have the first crack at a set of fine juicy chicken drummies and lots of carrots too!

The Master offered Shun a chair and then took a moment to lightly turn Shun's arm a little bit to look over for pus. Infection was a big issue with students just because of the risk of having to take them off the island to get it treated since it was di. One time he actually had to delay the pretest for a week since one of the students had a large gash from practice that ate away bits of their forearm. Luckily, Shun's were merely superficial. He then walked over to the medical cabinet to grab some antibacterial ointment and bandages.

Shun's wandering eyes gazed over to the fireplace. Even if his box served as a source of light, it didn't create any heat. "Master, how come you don't use your fireplace at night? Aren't you cold?" Shun asked as he pointed toward it.

The Master knelt down and began to spread some ointment over them. "Not at all, before my Cloth, I and another shared this hut. Back then, except the deck outside and the larger space to hold medical and dental supplies the layout is no different to your hut and the brothers. However, June arrived so one day I made a hole, laid some stone and built it in; can't let a baby go cold at night."He held one end of the bandages and began to cover the red areas. "Besides, if my students can go without fire at night, I, especially as a Silver, should as well. So after June was old enough, the only time it's lit is when we have guests or if it is needed."He shifted his attention back to Shun's bandages, tearing off the end and sealing the top. "They should be fine tomorrow. Make sure you take the bandages off before June chains you," he shifted his eyes. "You aren't thinking of quitting are you?"

Shun shook his head. "No, I won't quit…" He looked down and then back at his Master. "Do you think Leda and Spica would let me stay?"

"Shun, if you want to stay here, then you shall stay. Do you really want to continue on with the test?"

Shun gave a firm bow with his head. "Yes!" He then pulled his fingers. "It's just that, I don't think they like me, and I really don't know how to talk to them." He personally felt divided on the issue.

The Master put up the extra medical supplies. "You were all under a high-stress situation. Now that it is over, just go over there and talk to them about the test. Just remember, they can't force you out."

Shun petted his wrists and stood up. It was so convenient when Ikki did all the talking. But Ikki was not here. He wished that he could have any other position than the middle. The middle seemed to be the most important spot.

_Shun, you're the middle man. You dictate the pace. They walk when you do. They don't control you; you control them, step up and take charge._

The Master wanted him to take charge, but how does he do it? He's never led anything. He always just stood by and let others speak for him. He must take charge, but how? How does one 'take charge' when they're looked down upon? "What do I say?"

The Master folded his hands. "What is the most important issue that you all must confront?" He listened to Shun's reply that the Pretest was. It was a question where he already knew the answer. The Master folded his arms as he continued. "Aside from being chained, what will you do for the next thirty days?" Again, Shun gave him another expected answer, they would practice. "How will you practice?"

Shun closed his eyes and looked down. He then replied once more with an answer that the Master had heard many times in the past: that they would probably set the thing up like the course and practice their jumps tomorrow. The Master shook his head. It was a common answer and one that had cost the lives of many of his future students. "Shun, practicing on a course is good, but don't you see something wrong with your idea?"

Shun was quite confused. "I don't know." It sounded like a good idea. Sure he only had a few seconds to think of it, but it wasn't bad for being something off the top of his head. Perhaps he should use whatever was on the top of his head again? "Do you want us to use the actual cliffs?"

That was the last answer he expected from him, "heavens, no!" The Master's eyes were wider than they ever been and his face had a twisted look of horror and anger. He mumbled something in Spanish before he pulled out a chair and sat by the boy.

His hands reached for his face. He pulled them downwards to erase his fearful look and replace it with his typical aloofness before grabbing the boy's arm and holding it in front of him. "Shun, look at your wrists, why are they this way?"

Shun turned toward them and then at the Master. "We were chained together, and we couldn't walk right." Oh, but that sounded so negative. "But we did get better! Leda wasn't so fast, Spica stopped stopping, and I had both of my feet on the ground after we talked! I was even facing the right direction too!"

"I'm glad; you all will get better in time. That is a certainty that can only hasten with practice. In terms of creating a course, from what I've seen in the past, it takes a long time, one group, in particular, spent two weeks and that was because, they chose to put it off one day, and they ended up having to set it all up while being chained. Can you imagine how hard that must be, Shun?"

"Oh," Shun's imagination went wild as he began to shudder at the thought. One person would be fetching rocks, another would be measuring, and there he was in the middle being pulled in every sort of direction with no hands to use! He couldn't think of any way he could help out other than to just stand there. How useless he would feel! The brothers would be yelling at him that he wasn't allowing them to use their left or right hand or he was doing nothing. That was the last thing he wanted to happen.

He thought of the Master's words, he really seemed to emphasize the choice of doing a task tomorrow. He suddenly gasped. He understood and noticed the Master nodding gently with a raised eyebrow. "We could do it tonight and not worry about the chains!" Master Daidalos raised his hand and gestured him to keep going. Shun clasped his hands as his brain exploded in a euphoria of inspiration! "We can all do separate jobs, and we will be," he was so excited that he was having trouble remembering the word.

The Master's gaze shifted toward the ceiling. "It starts with a p."

"Prepared!" Ah, he did know! How wonderful! If only Ikki were there to see him.

The Master wasn't finished yet. "You know Shun, now that I think of it; your idea isn't all that original. I'm sure that there were some courses already set up from past students. It would be a shame to let those go to waste."

Shun was on to him! "We can use those instead of setting up our own!" He was sure that they will be so pleased with the thought of getting so much done with so little work. Now he couldn't wait to go visit them!

The Master raised a finger, "give me a moment, I'll get you something to measure with. I can't guarantee that all of the practice areas are correct. After all, I had a few that were convinced that one foot equaled the length from their toes to the back of their heel, and sadly they paid dearly for it too." With that, he headed to his enormous wall of tools and plucked a tape measure before tossing it to the child.

Shun prematurely grabbed it causing it to fall to the ground. He then picked it up and looked down on it. He was sure he saw something like this being used when they were repairing the gym floor at the orphanage. He reached for the two metal teeth and pulled up to reveal a hidden ruler. He touched the cold yellow metal strip, reading the numbers before pulling it a little farther. The Master walked over and pushed on the yellow button causing it to snap back in like a frog's tongue after catching a fly. He pulled it out and tried the switch and giggled as it went back in before taking his hand and measured it from his palm to his index before motioning it over to his pinky. After he ran out of fingers, he looked around for something else to measure. He pointed over to the fireplace. The Master nodded and soon Shun was off measuring it as well as the other objects in the room.

**O|=====|O**

Leda walked toward the door. He looked down and noticed there was no light coming from Shun's hut. He hoped that the little cabbage head was not asleep. It would look bad on him if he was to go in and the others thought he was trying to break into it. "Leda, do you need anything?" called June from afar. He turned around and watched the Amazon set the wooden spoon aside and quietly walked forward.

June seemed quite close to the Master. In a way, he envied Shun for he had access to someone who probably held a wealth of information about the island and the teacher. He politely bowed to her. While it wasn't required to show respect from one trainee to another, it would present him in a more favorable light. "June, where's," he closed his eyes. God, he'd been calling him cabbage head for so long he forgot his name already. "Where is the other trainee at?" June then pointed toward the Master's hut. Leda raised an eyebrow before wafting a delicate hand over the side of his cheek. "Oh, how sad, I can't believe he's going to quit tonight. I was thinking about how nice it was that another Japanese student would be training with us." Leda mournfully lowered his head. A small tear fell while his foot kicked a stray pebble.

June reached over and comforted his hands. "Don't worry, Shun's not quitting, he's just getting his wrists taken care of. They got cut up from the chains." Her blank mask tilted in happiness but in truth was studying his face. He looked sincere, and the tear was a nice touch, but she was no fool. "Besides, it would be bad if he quit." She folded her arms and looked away. She had laid the bread crumb and waited for the robin to follow. She too will be sincere.

Leda wiped his lone tear and turned toward her. "What are you talking about, June?"

June turned to the side and sang her siren song. "Leda, will you keep a secret?"

Leda was pleased by this. She's probably seen the test so many times that surely she knew of things that he did not. "Yes."

She reached over and guided him around the hut to a small blind spot. She touched her head to gage her Master's Cosmos carefully; it seemed he was focused on something else. Leda walked closer and lowered his head so she could whisper whatever she needed to tell him. "Typically, the last cliff is not eight feet. Instead, it's fifteen."

Leda's mouth dropped, "fifteen?" he muttered loudly. June placed her finger over where her lips would be. Such a number made his head dizzy. Eight feet, while chained to two others, was hard enough, but fifteen? That was almost impossible! No wonder so many died in the first month here. "There's no way three people chained can jump that far," he rasped, trying to hold back his shouting and distress. His green eyes shifted a bit before he looked up. "The Sanctuary requirements for a Pretest state that a person or persons must have the means to complete it without the use of their cosmos."

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "It is true; in fact when we found out that Shun was going to be a part of this group, he too declared that the Pretest under its current pretenses would be impossible due to the additional weight of a third person and the assumption that all of you will have low-level cosmos to use. He then contacted Sanctuary and received permission to adjust the last cliff before any of you arrived."

He leaned on his thighs. This definitely complicates things. Having Shun around would be a bother, but it also meant that the last cliff was seven feet shorter. June seemed concerned over Shun leaving. "The Master wouldn't try to revert the cliff back to its original distance if Shun chose to leave, would he?"

She looked down. Her finger tapped the side of her arm as she pondered his question. "I do not know. He only pushed the cliff closer to abide by the Sanctuary's standard. He did mention…" she paused.

Leda's eyes widened in anticipation, "yes," he made sure his voice was low. "What did he say?"

June stood there. She cannot lie, but she will use her Master's words, vague to allow him to question, but it was true. She was, after all, her Master's most treasured pupil. It was time for her song to crescendo. She pulled his head closer and told him to shut his eyes. He does. She then lifted her mask ever so slightly so the purity of her song can be realized. Her voice was clear and quite beautiful without the muffled impediments the mask had caused her: "He told me:

_I will reset the cliff later and possibly sooner if needed._

She slid it back down and told him that he may open his eyes once more.

He doesn't. He was not pleased with this revelation. "That doesn't help, do you know if he will reset the cliffs before our test or if one of us leaves?" He opened his eyes to see that she merely shrugged and seemed more focused on her cooking. "Thank you for this information." He gave her a quick bow, and she politely did the same before returning back to the campfire to tend to the stew.

He then calmly walked over behind the hut as if he was off to leak on some rocks. He dared not risk allowing the Master to see both he and June leaving together from behind the hut. With his arms folded, he took a little time to ponder the choices before him. Shun was annoying and weak but his presence there would mean that the typical distance on the last cliff would be cut by almost half.

Then again, if Shun was gone and the Master did not reset the last cliff, the challenge would be lost, and he and Spica would have no trouble passing the test and earning the right to train with a Silver Saint who was rumored to have the strength of a Gold. On the other hand, if he resets it, then there was a good chance that he and Spica would just leap to their graves. Even if the Master's conscience did not permit him to reset the cliffs, there was also the offhand chance that Sanctuary would ask that he would reset the rocks due to the sudden change of circumstances. Silver Saints were notorious for their loyalty, and their Master would never betray their trust.

The risk was too high. Even if cabbage head was totally useless, it was better than being forced to jump twice as far.

Leda walked back out and calmly strutted to his hut. Spica opened the door and poked his head out, "how did it go?"

Leda grabbed his arm and pulled him inside. "Change of plans." The door slammed shut behind him.

**O|=====|O**

He pressed the button and caused the yellow metal strip to snap back in. After measuring the desk, the chairs, the floorboards, and the fireplace, there was a strange thought that entered in the back of his head. He closed his eyes and began to mouth out his Master's words. It was then the child made a strange face. June told him to listen to any directions given to him once they reach the Pretest area, but something just doesn't sound right. "Between each of the four cliffs is five feet. The last one is eight," he spoke out loud before gazing back at his teacher. "Master, did you tell us anything else besides that?"

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Not quite, Spica did ask how far deep the gorges run, but June informed him that they were fifty feet." The little boy kept opening and then shutting his mouth as if he was debating whether to bring something up or not. "Shun, what is it?"

"Master, did you ever tell us how long each of the cliffs was?" Shun noticed a terrifying look at the Master's face. Did he insult him? "Master, don't be angry, I really tried to listen!"

Master Daidalos slowly sat down. He too began to recall all the words he had said and come to the realization that after they had wasted so much time in the desert; he knew they needed to get back to the Living Area, and in his rush, he had neglected to speak of the cliff's design and their size. The shape of it is the Nebula Defensive End was more of an artistic touch but the children really needed to know how long each cliff was to gauge their speed and to time their jumps. He forced himself to look into the child's concerned gaze. "Shun," he paused. "I forgot," as soon as Shun flinched he darted his blues to the floor before he once more looked at his student. "I'm so sorry." He placed his hand over his face. "The first four are ten feet each with the last one being only eight."

What was wrong with his teacher? He seemed so happy earlier when they were talking about the practice course. Now he was sad, did he do something wrong? "Master, did I do something bad? Please don't be sad."

He looked up and sighed. "Shun, you didn't do anything wrong, in fact, you did something right. I'm glad you brought it up. However," he leaned his forehead on his hands. "For me, I feel, as your teacher, that it was unacceptable on my part to allow something so crucial to slide by for as long as it did," he almost looked like he was going to pound his desk, but he didn't. Instead, he went back to leaning on his forehead. "You boys almost lost a lot of valuable practice time because of me."

Shun walked over to the Master and patted his back and tells him what his brother always told him sans the part about crying too much. "Master, everyone makes mistakes, but don't beat yourself over it."

The Master raised his head and faced him. "Shun, don't you see? In this test, the slightest miscalculation and you all could fall to your deaths just like the others prior. I can't promise you that you will survive the Elysium Leap, but I shouldn't hinder it due to my incompetence."

Uh oh, Shun didn't know what to say now. Usually, whatever Ikki told him made him feel better, but the Master was still sad. "That's okay," he reached over and patted the Master again, but it didn't seem to be working as well the first time.

The Cepheus Saint did stand up but began to escort Shun out. "Shun, I'll be fine. I'm a grown man. I've all night, and I'm sure I will be better after getting something to eat. You, on the other hand, need to take care of yourself and all those things we discussed tonight. Time is precious, and it only gets colder as the night wears down. Go spend it doing something important, you are dismissed."

Shun looked up at him and left, thinking of the Master's words.

The Master headed back to his bed and took a moment to lay there. The room felt so quiet now. Normally he could accept being wrong, but what he did was just careless. Perhaps with the long streak of death that had occurred this year was getting to him just like June. He drank more alcohol after the last jump than he did all year combined.

He sat up, reached for his chisel and rock from the top of his box. As his fingers lightly grazed the silver surface, he suddenly heard Princess Andromeda's voice. He rested the objects on his lap and listened to her plea. He sighed, "Daughter, I know you miss me; however you know that after the Introduction I must be here all night in case any students seek my consultation. I cannot come to the Temple tonight." He waited for her reply only to frown and shake his head in disgust. "Daughter, it's your own fault that you made a mess in there. I'll clean it up tomorrow, but I will have none of it anymore." He jerked his hand off his box. The Princess was bored because all her precious sand that she used to write and draw with was now out of reach due to her little stunt on the way to the Elysium Cliffs.

He still remembered the one time he was refilling the sand, and a trainee asked if he had a kitty in there.

He picked up his project from his lap and began to continue where he left off.

***Knock Knock***

The Master's eyes shifted a little bit. Maybe the other boys had some questions too. "Enter."

Shun opened the door holding a hot bowl of stew. A dazzling dance of heat radiated from the top. Shun took his bottom and bumped it to shut the door ensuring that his Master's hut stayed warm. He quickly skirmished over to the Master's table and placed it down beside him. "Master, you said you'd feel better if you had something to eat." He then took a clean spoon from his belt loop and presented it to him. "Don't worry; I have already served some to Leda and Spica. They're eating it right now, so I'm not wasting time. I sat mine outside so it would cool faster. Spica said he hates carrots; June said you liked them." He then pointed to the bowl. "So I asked her to add his into your bowl. I also told her to put mine in there too."

The Master took the spoon and turned to his meal. Sure enough, his bowl was loaded with so many carrots that he had trouble mining for the giant chicken breast at the bottom. As a Master, he had grown used to students, and their toady attempts to win favoritism from him. Shun's hidden records gave an air devious behavior, and his overall physical build had been far from impressive. Perhaps he even had a strong sense of determination? However, that was difficult to gauge when his tears tended to follow afterward. The only thing that he had above the others was his mannerism. Yet, he of all people should know easy that it is to conceal. After his lackluster performance with the introduction earlier, he feared that June would be stuck with a sycophant.

For some reason, perhaps Shun was not trying to flatter but indeed was genuinely kind? He felt so terrible that he paid no heed to his own words earlier, busy thinking of why he left such an important detail behind. Yet Shun was actually listening to him the entire time. But Shun had just met him? Unless the boy was indeed that innocent, he couldn't think of why he would be so kind to a stranger such as himself.

Shun walked over to the bowl, and despite the heat, it conveyed he picked it up and held it for him, urging him to eat. Master Daidalos was touched. He reached over, took the bowl and set aside once more. He then reached over and placed a hand on the child's shoulder. "Shun, thank you, you are a very thoughtful boy. I feel much better now. I'm happy you came over and met with me tonight."

Shun's face bloomed. A compliment! It felt so strange. Everyone called him a crybaby, a weenie and so many terrible things. Someone, other than Ikki had called him something nice for a change! He was thoughtful! He did not know what to say. He gave the Master a deep bow "Thank you."

"No, thank you." He then noticed the boy's attention kept shifting from him to his bowl. "Do you like carrots, Shun?"

Shun nodded his head embarrassingly. "But I want you to feel better."

The Master looked around and grabbed a dry unused cup. He then scooped out some of the orange delights out of his bowl, placed them in the glass and handed it to the boy. Shun tried to give it back. "Master, these carrots are for you."

The Master grabbed Shun's hand and placed the cup into his little grasp. "Shun, you gave me your carrots and Spica's. I thought I would return such a generous offer by giving you mine that I originally had. Here, please take it. You'll need them to grow strong."

Shun smiled as he looked down at the Master's carrots.

**O|=====|O**

He passed by the meeting spot to collect his bowl. It was colder than anticipated, but once he added the cup of hot carrots, his meal was the perfect temperature once more. He headed over to the Brothers' hut, knocked and went inside. Even though it was the same type of setup as June's hut, it did not smell like flowers or vanilla nor had the colorful chalk decorated walls. Instead, it was rather plain, but that's understandable since, like him, they just got there.

He looked over at their tables. He figured since they were brothers, that they would have a picture or two of their family. However, there was none except for some cloth wraps and the rule book. Even he had taken a little time to decorate his quarters. He had hung his brother's portrait that he lovingly crafted from paper, glue, and macaroni shells while he was on television. It was his finest and only piece of art he had. He and Ikki were quite proud of it, even if everyone kept mistaking it for a rooster.

He sighed and then took a seat on the floor with the others. Leda had already finished all of his food. His bowl was neatly placed on the table, and succulent, protein-enriched marrow was sucked clean from the bones. To Shun's surprise, Spica was just sipping on the juices and had barely touched what was left of his food.

The blue-haired boy turned his attention to Shun and walked up to him. "Hey Shun, have you eaten your chicken yet?" Shun shook his head no since all he did was pluck one of Master's carrots on the way there. Spica then gazed over at the two beautiful drumsticks. "Do you want to trade?" he asked as he showed the now skinless chicken breast, in his bowl.

Leda rolled his bright green eyes. First, he ditched nearly all the vegetables in his bowl with the exception of a few stalks of baby corn. Now he was going to trade away the healthiest part of the chicken with the most meat. "Shun, Spica hates the breast because most of the skin fell off during the cooking process."He felt frustrated by his brother's picky ways. On the other hand, Spica really needed to eat more tonight to build up strength for practice tomorrow. "Could you do it, he barely ate anything today."

Shun looked at the two fat legs that he begged June for. Not only that, but there was no skin! He looked down at the naked breast, it was plump with meat but oh how it lacked any skin! There was none to be seen! However, Leda really wanted his brother to eat, and he certainly did not wish for Spica to starve. Regretfully, he took his precious fat drummies and exchanged them for Spica's skinless chicken breast.

Leda seemed quite pleased. "Thanks, Shun." He then turned his militant gaze to Spica. "You better eat all of that! Remember, just tear a bit skin and combine it with the meat if you have to! Maiden Merope isn't here to baby you anymore!"

Shun stripped the prime layer of his chicken and inspected it as Ikki told him to. "Who's Maiden Merope?"

Leda sat over by his brother with his eyes glaring at Spica's bowl, making sure he wasn't going to just pull the skin off and forget the rest of his meal. "She's a Maiden over at our orphanage. She's butch, but she really knew how to cook! She does it so much that she gives Spica a personal meal every time!"

Spica carefully pulled a side of the leg and wrapped it in the skin. "That's because she likes me and I feed the animals for her. She has allergies, and I hate vegetables. We both win," he confidently bit into his chicken skin roll.

Shun couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. He wished he had that skin roll. However, it was more critical that Spica received proper nutrition even if his breast lacked the savory flavors of the drummies.

Leda tossed a pillow at his brother's head. "She doesn't like you! She's butch, and you know it!"

Shun finished the last of his carrots. "Is June butch?"

Spica and Leda both let out a smirk at the odd comment. Spica twirled his fork and aimed it at their confused cabbage headed friend. "Probably, go ask her if you don't know." The two brothers gasped as Shun placed his bowl down and actually started to walk toward the door. "Oh my god, he's actually going to do it!" thought Spica as he prepared to raise his internal Cosmos so he'll hear every word of what they will say.

Suddenly, Leda slipped past Shun and blocked the entrance. "Shun, he was kidding. If you do that, you're going to make her really mad. Now go over and finish your food. We have a lot of work to do tonight."

Spica looked at Leda. "Oh come on, that would've been hilarious!"

"No, it wouldn't! June would probably have gone off and cried to the Master, and he'll be mad as hell at all of us!" Leda was not going to look stupid in the eyes of the teacher just so his brother could enjoy a small prank.

**O|=====|O**

The boys finally finished their food and began to file out. Leda and Spica threw on a few extra trainers while Shun threw his orange hood over his head. They took three candles, one to guide them and the other two to help see in the dark. The moon was only partially out, and that would not be enough to read the details of the tape measure.

All three of them stayed close together. The cliffs were scary at night. They were sharp and porous and with the way they were eroded they seemed like large hands coming from the ground and clawing toward the sky. There was another thing that frightened the three children more: silence. There were no crickets to chirp their songs; nor birds, rodents, lizards or any other nightcrawler.

"So dead…" Spica muttered.

Both Leda and Shun looked up.

"Yeah…" replied Leda.

"Uh huh…" Shun quietly nodded.

All three of them wanted to talk. It was the most sensible thing to do to qualm their fears. However, the stillness of the land was so overpowering that all they could do was come closer toward the lone dim light of their candle.

Suddenly, a gust of wind cut through the still air. Leda cried out as he took his hand and sheltered the flame while Spica and Shun used their bodies to shield it. None of them wished to be in the dark, even if it would be for a moment. They all froze into place for at least two minutes. Spica held his breath fearing that the slightest exhale would extinguish their precious light. Leda looked up and nodded once. The wind was gone, and they were free to continue.

It was then they all began to hear the beautiful sound of waves rocking against the beach. They quickened their pace and hurried down, hearing the song of the sea grow louder. The large cloud that covered the half crescent moon passed. Once all three of them made it through the small crevice of hell, the light shined and presented the cursed waters of the ocean.

The three children wasted no time in looking for the promised premade course of the past trainees. At first, it was difficult to distinguish anything. It all seemed like a beach with random rocks spread carelessly around. But soon their eyes adjusted and they all began to separate and comb the beach for the perfect practice course.

Shun found one very close to the ocean. He thought it would be great to be next to the sea where they could cool themselves from the heat of the sun. That was when he noticed that the pattern of the rocks that the previous trainees had left. Half of them looked like the waves had pulled and distorted their course area. He felt sorry for them. It must be hard to create space only for the ocean to ruin it with each wave. They probably spent more time fixing their path than practicing and such an area will not do.

Leda found one very far from the ocean. He looked it over and scoffed at it. The gaps were too short! He was dumbfounded by the fact that a small trail of footprints was next to it as if they used their own feet as a form of measurement. "Such stupidity is undeserving of a cloth!" he muttered as he kicked sand on it and turned to find another course.

Spica found a neat rock. It was large, with a huge hollow pore. He picked it up and dusted the sand off of it. It was a little too round at the bottom to be used as a bowl. He placed it on his head like a helmet, but it was too heavy. He shrugged. Maybe it wasn't as neat as he thought. He carelessly tossed it to the side and broke it in half.

The boys continued to look for courses. Perhaps this idea wasn't as easy as thought it would be? As Shun wandered around, he looked over and noticed a familiar name. The child ran forward to get a better look. "Leda, Spica, look!" Shun cried as he pointed to it.

The two brothers came over and stared at it. "Shun who is this?" asked Spica.

Leda took the light of the candle and held it at the rock. "Talus…" he then looked at the date that the child inscribed. "Shun, this was ten years ago, what's the point of it?"

Shun took the candle and looked at the two. "Talus was the farthest cross of all."

Leda threw his hands to his sides. "So? He still died! Besides, this makes no sense. Master only placed those that died this year in the front. Talus has been dead for the past ten years!"

Shun disagreed. "Did you see the wood of Talus' cross? It looked brittle and old. I barely could make out his name while the others seemed bright and new. Maybe the Master left his cross alone and only moved the others back? Besides, Talus was the only lone cross. If everyone had a partner, why is his by itself? I don't think the Master would be so heartless as to move one cross back and leave the other for the next ten years."

Spica was busy looking back and regretting ever breaking his round thin rock. "Shun the guy still died. Let's just go find another."

Leda brought his cold, wax-coated finger to his lips. He didn't pay much attention to the crosses, but he did recall a lone cross being exceptionally far from the rest. Cabbage head did bring up a good point. "Everyone was chained together; maybe he actually made it but…?" he paused as his mind went to work. Interesting, perhaps he could use this to his advantage?

Shun stood there, waiting for Leda to finish his sentence. "What do you think happened?"

Leda looked down at Shun. "I don't know," he lied. "Come on, let's see if he left anything," he then took the candle from Shun's hand, and they all searched the area. Sure enough, there before them was probably the most well-crafted course they've seen on the beach.

Shun and Leda took the measuring tape while Spica went off to see if he could find another neat rock. Shun held the tape in place while Leda used the candle to read the numbers. Leda looked up. "Shun do you remember what the Master said the cliff sizes were?"

Shun nodded. "They're all ten feet except for the last one. It's only eight." Leda gave him a thumb up, permitting Shun to let go of his end and allowing the two to continue to the next part.

Leda turned toward his brother. "What the hell are you doing?"

Spica poked around at a small pile of stones. "I saw a neat rock but I broke it. I'm trying to find another. Besides, you don't need me. You're just measuring!" he looked at the rocks and tossed aside all the boring ones, trying to find another one like the one he had.

Leda tossed the tape measure on the sand. "Well, you could at least hold the damn candle! I'm dripping hot wax all over my hands trying to read the numbers!"

Shun focused on holding the end of measuring tape. Spica and Leda seem to yell at each other a lot. He wished they would stop; they were brothers after all. However, it was none of his business and interfering would probably make it worse. He's so glad that Ikki would never yell or try to threaten him.

Spica rejoined the group and held the candle for his brother. Leda was quickly able to read his measurements, and soon they were moving at a faster pace. When they got to end, Shun was surprised by how off the last one was. "What does the measurement of that one, Leda?" he called out.

Spica brought the candle closer as Leda raised an eyebrow, "fifteen feet."

The green-haired boy was shocked. Up till now, Talus' distances were flawless. "The last gap is eight feet. Why did he make it so far?"

Leda shrugged. "I guess the guy was an overachiever."

Spica snickered, "sucks that he died!"

The two boys laughed, but Shun didn't think it was funny at all. After all, if Talus had not made such a well-crafted course, they'd be stuck making their own or spending a lot of time fixing one of the others.

The course was remarkably accurate and reasonably well designed too. Aside from inserting rocks that previous trainees had plucked off and adjusted the length of the last gap, there wasn't much restoration needed for it. The best part was that there was a massive pile of tiny stones by it with a few scattered here and there on the path itself. Leda concluded that Talus must have used the small rocks as a form of measurement.

Although Spica did wander off again to find a rock that equaled the greatness of his old one, he did manage to find an old plank. They decided to insert it by their course to distinguish it from the others. They could also use it to rake the sand to keep it leveled.

Pleased with their work, they used the last of their old candle to relight a new one before blowing it out. They headed back toward the Living Quarters once more. The trail seemed a little less scary than the first time they went, but still, no one made a sound. Spica and Shun did not like the cliffs that reached in despair toward the night sky.

Leda, on the other hand, was merely preoccupied with his thoughts on the lone cross of the last Elysium Leap Cliff.


	4. 1D: Starlight! The Andromeda Cloth Inspires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a terrible practice, the Andromeda Islanders take time to watch a meteor shower. However, the Andromeda Cloth has a rather mischievous nature as it is forced to alter its original plan to save the boys.

The Master gently opened the door to Leda and Spica's hut. It was a new moon out tonight, and only the subtle glow of his Cloth provided any light. Before he'd head out to the Nebula Temple, he always checked on all the students one last time before he leaves and after he comes back. It had been a week since all of them have been chained together and they still had the same sleeping problems as the first night. He looked down, and all their sheets were being hogged by Spica. Feeling cold, Leda was sleeping on his left side with Shun pulled on top of him like a human security blanket, his head nuzzled against Shun's green hair.

He reached over and pulled the blankets back. He then lifted Spica with one hand and Shun on the other and carefully placed all three children back in a row. He reached down and grabbed the blankets below, fluffed them up and allowed them to flutter and lay on top of them like a fresh layer of snow.

He looked over at Shun's face. The boy looked like he was crying in his sleep again. Leda was clinging to his real blanket while Spica's eyes were twitching. He reached to his side and pulled out a notebook and wrote a few details of tonight down. He then headed out the door and started to head out to the Nebula Temple. It was a long journey, but he felt like walking. After sitting in one spot for hours watching children jump and fall in the sand, he needed to move around.

He turned to the sky. Tonight it was too cloudy. Tomorrow it should be all cleared up and will be one of the most spectacular meteor showers in years. Since the Saints of the First Holy War, it had been a tradition that during large meteor showers, all Saints and Trainees will either train for half a day or not at all to take time to enjoy the show with dinner, wine and for them, plenty of blankets.

In the distance, the Nebula Temple, a hollowed-out black polished rock, sat near the middle of the path between the Elysium Leap and the Living Quarters. Its exterior was shiny and smooth like an orb with only an open entrance in the front. It was not as elaborate as the Cepheus Palace in the northwest part of the island or as exotic and complicated as the Labyrinth of Cassiopeia underground, but in all its simplicity, if seen from the top of the fifth Elysium cliff, it was indeed a work of art that he was quite proud of.

There was also practicality to its shape too. Before he arrived, the chains were merely laid out around the Andromeda Pandora's Box in the hot desert. It would take months for enough cosmos to build up in them due to the outside causing most of it to dissipate in the air. However, the circle-shaped dome, as well as the coating of stardust along its inner walls, permitted the cosmos of the Andromeda Cloth to swirl around in a constant stream and allowed the chains that hung around to absorb the most cosmos in the least amount of time. Now the user could use the Nebula Chains or even any other cloth that used chains in particular. Even Dante, one of his own comrades, was capable of practicing with the imitation Nebula Chains with the techniques of his Cerberus Cloth.

As he approached the entrance, the gentle light hue began to brighten. He could hear the rustle as the Princess was already opening her box and pushing all the sides back so that she could greet the man who bore the Cepheus cloth.

The Andromeda Cloth, fully exposed with her box sides flipped down greeted him by writing "Father" on the ground and gracefully waved her chains in the air causing them to sparkle. Even after fourteen years, he still found the simple gesture quite beautiful. The cloth happily glowed as he sidestepped the writing and sat beside it. It took its chains and then reached over to carefully remove his headpiece and politely placed it on the side.

"You've been doing well all week. June told me that she was able to come in here to grab more chains with no trouble and," he pointed to the ground, "you've kept your sand in your spot and the temple nice and tidy. I'm very proud of you, Daughter," he smiled as the cloth draws a heart on the ground.

The cloth reached out with the Circle End and placed it on his hand to permit it to communicate with him. He listened to its question about how the newest batch of boys was doing. He pulled out the book that he wrote earlier. He scanned through the pages and decided to summarize it with a few details here and there.

**Leda (Left End)**

_He seemed to be getting along with the others quite well. Based on what I've been told from the Maidens at the House of Tenma Sanctuary Orphanage, they've said to me that he was prone to fits of anger, but he's been doing well in terms of staying composed. He's adjusted very quickly to his spot as the left side. He's done his best to ensure they remain on schedule and is always throwing out his ideas._

_Probably one of the most discomforting things that seemed to trouble trainees is taking care of one's needs due to a lack of privacy. His solution is to just throw a blanket on Shun to create a divider. It avoids a lot of unnecessary stress among the trainees._

_He's typically the first person up and before they leave for practice. He ensures that everyone is prepared and seemed to be the leader of their group since he orders when they take breaks, eat, and when to take time to fix their track._

_I did notice that as the week went on, he seemed to show signs of frustration with his brother. I'll speak more of this later on when we get to Spica._

_Leda is probably the most difficult to write about. Very bright and determined but always has this sneaky air to him as if he believes he can fool the world._

**Shun Amamiya (Middle)**

_During the introduction and our first meeting, I was concerned that his emotional state would interfere with the others. Once June loaned him and the others some old training gloves to cover his wrists he hasn't cried much, at least during practice. During training, he's asked the others if they should attempt a 'hang' for the last jump since he can't see how a 'hitch-kick' could work with three people. This was coming from the boy who didn't even know what an Amazon was._

_I thought June may have slipped him the secret to overcoming the leap to the fifth cliff, but she assured me that she had done no such thing. He does have superb form whenever he runs so maybe there is something that the Kido Orphanage had either censored or left out in his file? Or perhaps the streak of failed attempts this week had made him realize what must be done to overcome it?_

_The problem is that Shun just doesn't know how to communicate what is, their saving grace. The others don't appear to be listening, and truthfully, I don't blame them. If Shun would just show more confidence in his voice and stop playing with his fingers every time he spoke to them, they would probably take him more seriously._

_On an odd note, I've noticed every time I check on them at night, Shun looked as if he was crying in his sleep. June mentioned that he did the same thing the night he came here. We thought it was just first-day stress, but something like that shouldn't be happening this long._

_Based on my own personal experience, I think there's something that's causing Shun a lot of personal guilt that he won't talk about. I don't want to bring up the subject since he never brought it up during the day in favor of concentrating more on the Elysium Leap Pretest. According to the records, the Kido Foundation has provided me with, I can only assume that his current state is due to the "pending" death of his brother._

**Spica (Right)**

_Where do I begin? There has been hardly any improvement since being chained. He's not stepping on the right foot, and he stops at the most inopportune times. If Spica weren't attached, Leda and Shun would probably have no trouble with the test even if the last cliff had been set at fifteen feet._

_It's not that he's incapable of practice, but he's made zero progress in his position. It is unacceptable for a boy to be underperforming for this long. Are seven days of practice not enough for him to straighten up? Spica may be the youngest, but he's better than this._

The cosmos of the Cloth flickered as it asked what would be the best way to fix the problem.

The Master looked down at his notes and then at the Princess. "Spica should switch with Leda. He seemed to have the same problem that quite a few trainees had in the past. It's worked before; Leda's a quick learner and shouldn't have trouble with the right. I don't even know why such a thing works; perhaps it's psychological?" The official names of the gauntlets that the Nebula Chains were called the Defensive Left and Offensive Right and in a way, if the two were switched it seemed to coordinate with their personalities and past fighting styles well. The fact that Shun was in the middle almost made it looked like he was the bearer who controlled the human chains themselves.

"However," he continued, "I can't say a thing since my role in this is as an observer. Providing any tips and encouragement while they are still taking their pretest is considered interference," he closed the book and began to tap the top leather end on the knee-joint guard of his leg piece. The only time he can step in is with any medical-related issues or if the children request to switch positions. "If only Spica would just say something, then it wouldn't be a problem. I'm worried about the boys. Before the test, I'll need to go through the False Freedom Questioning and since they are considered one unit," he bangs his knee-joint one last time, "if even one trainee chooses not to do it at this point," He looked down at the sand and could imagine what would happen.

**O|=====|O**

_"Leda, Shun?"_

_"Master, of course, we can do it. I mean, just because a bunch of others was killed, doesn't mean a thing. Right, Shun?"_

_"Uh huh! Master, we've been practicing really hard!"_

_"What about you Spica?"_

_"Master, I'm no good. I didn't even want the Andromeda Cloth. I think you are all better off without me; I'd like to drop out."_

_"Spica, unfortunately, as part of the False Freedom Test, you are one link. In this state, I have no choice, Leda… Shun…I'm truly sorry, but now, I must end your paths toward the cloth as well."_

**O|=====|O**

The Master placed his hand over his face. It was a scenario that had played in his mind during the hot days of sitting and watching the children. On the first day, he was convinced that Shun would give him the most trouble in terms of this pretest. Over the past week, he's really stepped up his game. It wasn't a secret that Shun hated the middle spot. His nights as Leda's security blanket and his inability to use his hands independently were a clear indication of it. Somehow the boy soldiered on and despite his disdain has indeed adjusted to his spot. But no matter how well the other two do, if one is faltering, then it doesn't matter. "Spica may end up killing them all before they even try the Pretest. One student alone tests my conscience, three… " he couldn't even finish his sentence. He could feel the chain shift around his neck. It was her way of hugging, although in truth he's always been a little on edge knowing that one good jerk would easily decapitate him.

Suddenly it pulled away. The Cloth then moved its links and placed its Circle End under its mask. It was its way of showing her Father that it was thinking. While they did share a mental link, simple gestures used far fewer cosmos. Then, it raised its Triangular End and wafted its pointy metal tip in the air to signify that he could leave.

The Master was surprised by it. Typically if he was away from it for this long, it wanted him to stay until morning. "Are you sure? You told me that you had some pictures you wanted to draw for me and was in the mood to play hangman." The Cloth merely slapped the mask's chin causing it to rotate it to the side. It then slipped its two ends underneath. "You want me to get some rest for a change?" It slinked gracefully over to his helmet and lifted it up with great care. It laid it back on his head and then used its Triangular End to gently pull out his bangs without drawing blood like last time.

He wasn't going to complain. Tomorrow they will all be staying late to watch the shower, and a little extra rest would be nice. He was puzzled by how calm it has been all week, but perhaps it was its way of making up for throwing sand and rocks at June and the others. "Well, goodnight, Daughter." He noticed that the light of the room was a lot dimmer now. Her emotions can be dictated by the hues of its cosmos; he could tell that it was sad to see him leave so soon. However, it was the Princess' choice, and he will honor it. He gave a courteous nod, "until next week."

Its Triangular End slowly waved goodbye as the man got up. The pink color flickered a little before it then slapped its mask again so that the face was vertical once more. She then scribed something in the sand using the fanciful lines, curves, and dots of the long-dead Lemurian language.

He's asked before what it meant, and she only replied that he should know. She said it was a special message from a long time ago. He looked down, he still didn't understand it, but considering the care, she placed inscribing it and her refusal to tell him what it was, all he can do is politely smile before he stepped outside and vanished. The cloth patiently waited as it focused on reading her Father's cosmos. Ten minutes later, she knew he was asleep. Time to go to work!

It slapped the Circle End on the ground causing the sand to part all around it. It then began to use the triangle end to drill viciously at one of the links until it was disconnected from the rest of the cloth. It then lifted the piece and focused on a small hole in the Nebula Temple that she had made after the winds have told her to do so seven years ago. It was in such an inconspicuous spot that even today; Father had yet to find it.

Tonight the winds had whispered to her once more. They tell her, "The air is rich with cosmos. You shall thrive under the meteor shower!" Indeed she did felt more powerful than ever. Her chains that were limited to just five feet before can now move five thousand, and she had yet to reach her peak! Still, she only had one shot at this. After all, if Father realized what she could do in the time of the meteor shower, he may lock her up every time such opportunity presented itself. Since the winds, she had been carefully calculating how she will strike. After tonight, the winds have spoken, and she must change her plans.

Rather than use this burst of newfound strength to drill a hole through that girl's blond head; it shall maintain its angelic status with Daddy Dearest and use its newly empowered cosmos to help the trainees that have saddened him so. The winds have whispered during his report to her that the Scylla has three heads if she does not act tonight. If all goes well, in the end, it would surely please her Father and bring good favor with her over that horrible girl that dared stand by his side.

Oh, why must Athena torment her with such a difficult decision! Save the boys, or eliminate the girl? She has the means to accomplish her goal, but Father's conscience must come first.

Killing June will, unfortunately, have to wait; she had three Japanese children that she must attend to.

It was a pity that she had no owner. Then she would have her ability to open a pocket dimension and drop the Circle End at its destination, at the right time, rather than wait twenty-four hours for the fruits of her labor to flourish. The Circle End glowed so brightly that it almost turned gold. The Triangular End sharply pointed toward the hole and the Circle End sally forth toward the sky. With the meteor shower empowering it with the much-needed cosmos to accomplish such a task; the Circle End was sent quickly into orbit and lit up the air like a bright pink rocket.

With Father asleep, he won't be able to notice it tonight. By the time it returns, the meteor shower will be at its peak, and he'll most likely be too distracted or if he doesn't bring out that sissy Malvasia stuff, drunk to notice. Just in case, she should stay in her box, so he doesn't see that one of her ends was missing.

Using her lone Triangular End, she began to lift the sides of her Pandora's box. Its tip slipped over for the top and with a swift push upwards, and a quick retraction back inside it shut itself back in. Oh, wait a moment? Why didn't she just drag the boys out now? Why didn't she think of that sooner before she tossed her Circle End into space? How embarrassing!

Every plan should require one to contend with the notion that alternatives exist beyond the conception of the initial thought. Or maybe she was so fascinated that perhaps she too can formulate an idea and was lost in the euphoria of the sudden overwhelming sensation from the concept of inspiration and in the end had neglected the possibility that somehow within her noble goal that there were better and less cosmos-costly paths that she could've walked. Then again the winds have asked for the hole in her temple, and she must certainly listen to those who are right one hundred percent of the time.

Ah well, what's done is done. She will continue with her plan as excessive as it was. It was in orbit and changing the direction in her current state was near impossible. Besides, the impact will inevitably cause Father to stir, and she will most certainly be locked for weeks if he discovered her plan now.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. She will not only please her Father and Mother, but she will also help the rainbow-headed children and provide the world with a night that it will not forget!

**O|==========|O**

**Love You, Kill Me**

**Part One: The Chain Gang of Andromeda Island**

**Chapter 4: Starlight! The Andromeda Cloth Inspires**

**O|==========|O**

Leda opened his eyes and turned to his compatriots. "Come on, let's go eat and get going. Hurry up!" he clapped twice before reaching over with his free hand to stir the two of them.

Shun raised his body with his torso. He's grown used to avoid using his hands so that he wouldn't pull the others. Spica then followed and turned to Shun. "Man, you got one serious cowlick!" he commented as he shifted and popped his shoulders. He watched as Shun dazedly blinked.

Shun has heard people tell him about his strange morning hair. He didn't even need a mirror to know what it looked like. The back was probably all lifted up like the tail end of a peacock. He shrugged before shaking his head and allowing his green locks to fall back into place all without the need for a comb. June told him that she wanted his hair, but he didn't see how that was possible since it was still attached to his head. He turned to Leda as the redhead stared the two of them down. "Good morning," he greeted him as he waited there wondering who will get out of bed first.

Leda placed his free hand on his hip. "Morning," he then took his other and jiggled the chain to signify when to move. "Come on, we only have half of a day and need to get ready as soon as possible." The two others followed him as they all headed toward the three basins to clean up a little bit. "Honestly, you two need to get up earlier. I heard the Master and June outside, and it will not look good if we slept through breakfast." Leda and Shun knelt while Spica was caught off guard. Shun stopped halfway, bending to accommodate Leda sitting down and Spica standing up. "Come on!" Leda griped as Spica quickly dropped to his knees.

Shun was first. He grabbed the soap and began to wash his face. After rinsing that off, he handed it off to Leda who washed his. The boy passed the soap back to Shun and then to Spica. He wiped his face, and then Shun stretched his hands to allow them both to wash those since it made no sense for Shun to clean those if the two brothers were attached and did it for him. After they were done, Shun jiggled the chains so that everyone could stand up and head over to grab the blanket before exiting.

The morning routine was probably the most controlled and most comfortable part of being chained together. Everyone took their turns allowing everyone to get ready quickly. It was then; Leda looked over his cabbage head comrade. "Shun, before we go, I want to talk to my brother alone."

"Oh no," thought Shun. He knew the drill. He reached over for the blanket on the floor and promptly threw it over his head. He then raised his fingers for his ears and covered them. Shun closed his eyes as he could hear the muffled rasps of Leda toward Spica. He really hated it when the two fought. Even though Ikki had never really yelled in his face, there were times when he was sure that he frustrated him.

The first few days, he didn't mind since it seemed more playful than anything else and sometimes he'd catch the two laughing at the end. However, yesterday it scared him with whatever they did while he was under the blanket. Today, even if he couldn't hear a word, he could feel Leda's body do something while the recoil of Spica could be felt on the other. Leda's hand would grow very hot while Spica's got clammy. Once Leda tapped his shoulder, he could remove the blanket. Spica was facing one direction while Leda would be sneering at his back.

Shun reached over toward the blue-haired boy as he watched his shoulders bob with every deep breath he took. Suddenly, he felt a sharp tug as Leda jerked him over more to his side. "He'll be fine. If he'd just grow up and stop being all whiny because he sucks at this then maybe we'll actually make some progress today."

Such mean words. They were brothers, why would they do this? Shun was happy Ikki would never hit him, look down at him, or call him a crybaby. Nope! He's too kind for that! Still, Shun was sad to see them like this and really hoped things will get better. He even asked Mommy for help last night. He wished that she had love to spare for them too.

Spica slowly turned into their direction and then quietly jiggled the chain so that they could grab their things. Shun sighed as all three knelt down at once. Shun handed Leda before they all headed for breakfast. Shun looked over as Spica gazed listlessly away from him and Leda. Shun reached over one more time and patted Spica's back. Even if Leda said he'd be fine, he knew that it was still nice to know that someone cared.

Outside, Master Daidalos and June had already taken their spots over by the campfire. Their teacher looked up and waved to them. "Good Morning!" he waved.

The three children all politely smiled. "Good Morning!" Spica immediately shifted his eyes.

The traditional Saint breakfast consisted of a tasteless mixture of cooked oatmeal, barley, wheat germ, and rice. It was the most infamous dish that was sadly associated with each higher rank. Trainees were blessed by the fact that they only were required to stomach one bowl. Master has to eat three. Official Golds had it the worst with four dishes of it in the morning each day. Shun can't imagine anyone standing that much. Later on, the Master pointed out that the big Brazilian of the House of Taurus ate six and was damn proud of it too.

Every Saint had their trick on how to eat the stuff. Master said his technique was that he didn't eat anything after training at night so that he didn't care what June served that following morning. Shun's strategy was just to pour it down, so it made as little contact with his tongue. There was the option of a cinnamon shaker, and typically they would all go through half a bottle of it before the morning was through.

June reached over and grabbed her big bowl of chopped fruit. "Good morning!" she cheerfully greeted them. Today was thankfully different. June figured with the meteor shower tonight, it would give her an excuse to prepare something that wouldn't have Leda force-feeding Spica. "Spica, you must be starving this morning, here, you first. The Master and I have already partaken in our fair share." She presented the bowl in front of the boy while the Master walked up and handed him a bowl so he could choose.

Shun's eyes were fixated over the bright color palette of cherries, orange slices, apples, and grapes. Usually, they were all a little hesitant for breakfast time with the morning meal frequently being "breakfast barf," as Spica had put it, but today it looked absolutely beautiful. June brought the bowl over to him after Spica had picked most of the orange slices and grapes. Shun, smacked his lips as he took his bowl and collected the rest of the orange slices, some apples, and a few cherries.

Leda looked down frowning. "Are there any more orange slices?" he asked as he shifted the fruit around with the fork. It was the second most popular dish on the island due to how much juice they had and how easy there were to carry compared to watermelon.

Shun looked at his bowl. He didn't realize he took so many. He loved fruit but didn't mean to be so greedy. He raised his bowl to Leda, but the rose haired lad just blew it off. "No, Shun, don't worry about it."

June looked over at the bowls and compared. Shun did take the rest, but most of the orange slices were from Spica. She placed the bowl aside and ran to the training packs. Every morning, she'd pack all their lunches. She reached into her bag and pulled out an orange. She quickly ripped the skin and pulled the slices apart and stuck it in Leda's bowl. "Here you go! Now you too can have oranges!" she perked. Leda looked down and nodded. His frown was dissipating and a small smile formed. She then offered him the large bowl of fruit once more so he could gather more cherries and apples.

The Master quietly sat there. He could tell that even if today's practice will be shorter than usual, that the tension in the group was growing with Spica's lack of performance. It's only a matter of time before one of the boys will snap, and with them all being chained, he knew how that can be an ugly sight. At least June had prepared something to get them all started on a decent note for however long that lasts.

**O|=====|O**

Shun stared at the track before him. He turned toward a cliff and watched as the Master and June sat on its edge, observing everything they did. June had told them on the first day of observation that the Master typically would perch himself as far as the fifth Elysium cliff, but for today, he needed to watch up close. Even stranger was the fact that he walked with them when he was usually at the spot by the time they arrived.

Shun shook his head. He needed to focus on the practice and used his green eyes to begin to take careful measurements. He eyed the ledge that was marked at points with a white cloth that was tied to a stick. He wished that the sand was of different shades so that he was looking more at the ground rather than to the side. "We can jump five feet together, we just have to keep it up," he ensured himself. He looked at Spica and Leda and gave them each a nod. He jiggled the chains once to signify that he was about ready to count. "One, two," he suddenly felt Spica's side shifting. "Three," his voice squawked in his noble attempt to sound halfway bold and commanding.

Their feet charged forward, so far so good. They needed to run in step, but he could still feel the slight lag in Spica's pace. Shun had to keep going. Leda hated it when they would stop, and they'll be back to bickering for minutes on end.

Shun could see the flag coming up. He timed his step while Leda's foot will plant with his. He gave a sharp jiggle of the chains to signify them to leap. Leda and Shun's foot struck the ground as the two set their foot. Shun glanced briefly and noticed Spica had started with the wrong foot. They all leaped into the air. Shun's other foot jerked a little bit causing the trio to fall on their faces right before the second mark.

Leda turned his head to the large stone next to him. It was bad enough that they just died in the first hole, but he was inches away from busting his skull in. He continued to brush his face. He glared at Spica as the boy laid there with sand between his teeth. Shun picked himself and turned to the Master and June.

"Come on! Try again!" cried June from above.

Shun smiled. He liked it when Ikki cheered for him, and now June was doing it too.

The Master, however, did not. "June, during the Pretest, we can't coach or cheer them on. This is to measure what they can do on their own."

June cupped her hands over her mouth end. "Sorry, I just thought with how things are going this week that they would like a little support. I'll be quiet now."

"It's alright," he turned back to the boys as they prepare for another round, "don't let it happen again."

Leda raised his head above Shun's short cabbage head. "Spica, if Shun plants with his left, you _have_ to plant with your right!" he shouted as Spica nodded.

Shun went back into his position. He jiggled again and recited once more, and the boys charged forward and approached the first flag. Shun plants his foot and for a moment felt Spica's side actually feeling loose. "He's doing it!" Shun thought as he put all his might into his leap.

The Master and June leaned forward as their anticipation built up. They watched as the three boys finally get their leap in line, moving as one. June clasped her hands as they all reached the second cliff area. Suddenly both of their heads jerked back as the Master squint his eyes and June turned away.

Once they touched the second cliff, Spica had stopped. Leda and Shun got sent forward eating sand before Spica's body jerked from the force of their weight. Shun felt his legs being pulled in two directions. It was then the poor child felt something pull in the middle. He grunted as he grabbed his right thigh near his groin after his legs were twisted in a way that was not particularly comfortable. Leda and Spica attempted to get up while Shun remained sitting.

The two looked at each other before he handed his book and pen to her. "Shun, are you alright down there?" called the Master as he had June detail the apparent injury in the logbook.

Shun turned to the other two. He slowly got up and massaged the area a little bit. His mind raced as he looked down. He can't afford to get injured, not now when they needed him! He stood up, that's good. If it was something serious, he shouldn't be doing this. The pain was going away. "I'm okay, I just need a minute," Shun looked down and touched the area. Shun walked a little bit. That was a close one.

He then began to feel the rising temperature of Leda's hand next to his as well as the same clammy feeling as before with Spica. Shun turned to Leda's face as he could see the sheer anger in his cheeks. Leda won't get angry, not in front of the Master. However, watching his eye twitch a little toward Spica, he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it in.

They finally make it past the first one, and Spica froze. One of the things that Shun had talked to them about was that they needed to maintain momentum throughout the first four leaps to make it on the last jump. The worst possible scenario that Shun could think of is that one of them froze on the fourth cliff since there won't be enough area for them to build up speed to clear eight feet. Shun jiggled his chain and guided the two brothers back to the start, hobbling a little bit before his pace went back to normal.

Leda turned to his comrade. "Shun, do you want to take a break? You seem a little slow right now."

Shun shook his head and smiled at him. "No, I'm fine, but thank you for asking." He headed back over to the starting line before he felt a small pain in his thigh. He didn't know why he started. Perhaps he was afraid to make Leda angry or Spica sad, but his thigh hurt so much. "Hold on, I need to wipe some sweat off my face," he said as he took his sleeve and dried a few tears from his cheeks. He can't afford to look like a crybaby. Not now. He then turned to the side and saw Spica. He was doing the same thing as well.

Spica looked over for a moment and then away. "It's just sand," he shifted further away from them. "It hurts my eyes."

Shun looked up and turned to Leda as the rose haired child's eyebrow raised in suspicion. Shun turned to Spica and played along. He then moved in closer and looked at Spica's face. "I see the sand, close your eyes; I'll try to get it out." Shun had never been good at lying; however, he did his best, and it seemed to have fooled Spica's brother. He took his finger and pretended to wipe the corner of it.

He could see his face was red from frustration and the idea of being a constant failure. Shun knew the feeling all too well when it came to Ikki and the combat parts at the orphanage.

The Master was watching. June was watching and worst of all, his brother was watching in spirit. Shun remembered how sad he felt when Leda called him a crybaby. He knew it would probably hurt Spica even more. Maybe he already did so while he was under the blanket? However, it doesn't matter now. Spica's eyes blinked a few times before Shun wiped the sides. "I think I got it out."

Spica nodded and started to breathe a little easier. "Thanks, Shun."

**O|=====|O**

A few hours have passed. June and the Master continued to watch the boys attempt to reproduce the near success of the one jump that had them cross the gap of the first leap. June's eyes kept shifting to the position of the sun. Finally, she threw her hands over her face, "Ugh," she commented before yawning. "This is so boring," she murmured as the trio down below was taking a water break.

"_June, keep those comments to yourself."_

She turned to him and bowed her head as she heard him speak through the cosmos.

"_Forgive me, Master."_

Even though the Master agreed, he still did his best to avoid showing any signs of falling asleep. Watching three boys jump repeatedly and fall into the sand had grown tiresome for the two. Without the ability to throw out any input in between, it was possibly the dullest duty as a trainer. What made it especially harsh was that with the way they've been going through trainees, it almost feels like doing such a task was pointless. As much as he regretted it, deep in his mind, he wondered what the point of taking notes if they had a strong chance of dying. However, the boys would not appreciate watching the two complain about their boredom when their lives were on the line. It was not only disrespectful, but it would make them feel like they were just a line of crosses just ready to be thrown on the cliff beside their Pretest area.

The two of them stirred as the trio began to reach over for their things. The children all packed up and started the walk home. It had been a very long and unproductive half day.

**O|=====|O**

A couple of hours later, the group had traveled to the open desert. The three chained boys all sat on a single blanket while each one was wrapped from head to toe to keep warm. Leda and Spica were eating their beef and noodles with their free hand while the poor, hungry green-haired child merely stared at his food.

June walked over to him. She knew that he always ate last, so the others had two hands to eat with, but it still seemed unfair that his food must go cold because of where he was at. Tonight was supposed to be the night for them to relax and take their minds off the Pretest. She reached for his bowl and then took a seat directly in front of him. "Here, Shun, let me feed you. The beef is really tender tonight." Before Shun could decline, she immediately grabbed his bowl and spooned some broth, meat and a few noodles and held it in front of him. "Open up!" she sang, bobbing the bouncy blond hair that she wanted to part with earlier in exchange for his.

Shun bashfully did so. He almost felt like a newborn baby with his body wrapped up, especially after she started to make train noises bouncing the spoon with each serving. It was a good thing that June chopped the meat strips up so fine. At least now he could check them without asking June to do it for him. The Master walked toward the group and brought two bottles and several cups. He swallowed and turned to June. "Is that wine?"

June nodded. "It's Malvasia."

Malvasia, he wasn't quite sure what that was. He knew where Malaysia was, but not Malvasia."What does it taste like?" he asked before leaning forward toward the spoon.

"It's a very sweet Italian wine," she turned to her teacher as he sat a cup for her, "right, Master?"

Master Daidalos shook his head. "It's been very popular with the other trainees as well as at my orphanage back at the Gift of Aaron. I think you all will like it, Shun."

June nodded as she served the last of the broth to Shun. Shun thought about it. He supposed it couldn't hurt to take a tiny sip. He turned to Leda and jiggled his chains to allow the use of his hand. He picked it up and sniffed his cup. It did have a more pleasant scent than the beer that Saul had offered. Plus it had bubbles! Perhaps it was a variation of wine that was a soda? He sipped a little bit. It had a different burn then the soda. It was not as sweet as the orange soda but it made his body a little warm. He took a large gulp and blinked. "Oh," he smacked his lips in confusion. Every time he took a drink he had an urge to go potty.

Spica looked at his cup, preoccupied with his thoughts. He turned over to Leda as he raised his glass to the air to honor another shitty day of shitty practice. He then turned to the pink-cheeked Shun. Sometimes, Spica thought his brother and Shun were doing well and probably won't need him anymore. His eyes shifted toward June as she faced away from them drinking her wine. He reached over and tapped her shoulder. "June, can I ask you something?"

She placed her mask back on and sat next to him. "What is it?"

The six-year-old took another drink. "Do you think I'm the weakest?" Leda jerked his head toward him. Ignoring him, Spica tilted his head, "am I?"

June drummed her fingers on her drink. She watched the Master from the corner of her eye, leaned forward and secretly whispered her input. "Well, I think if you worked on your pace, you wouldn't be so bad."

Spica sighed, tilted his head. "Oh, I tried my best this week. I don't think I'm worth…" before he could finish, June raised her hand as she noticed her teacher suddenly catch their attention.

"Spica, let's just watch the meteor shower. Don't think of practice right now, okay?" she patted his cheek before walking back to sit over by Master Daidalos.

Leda continued to glare at Spica. They were drinking Malvasia; the wine couldn't have made him that stupid! "(Why did you bring that up?)" he switched to Japanese.

Spica shrugged. "(I was just thinking that,)" his eyes narrowed as he took his pinky and slyly pointed it to Shun as the child was focused with his drink. "(I'm the weakest.)"

Leda gasped and rolled his eyes. "(Don't be stupid, you're my brother.)" He then turned away to avoid Shun's attention. "Go finish your drink." He still can't believe that Spica would be so stupid as to bring up that subject while Shun, June and the Master were all surrounding them.

The Master gazed at the sky as large wisps of light began to appear. "Boys, June," he took his glass and pointed it upward as if he was raising a toast to it.

All the children turned their heads. Shun sat his bottle down and was immediately fascinated by what he saw. He had never seen so many shooting stars before. So many possible wishes! "They're so pretty! I tried to see a meteor shower once, but I didn't really see a thing."

June turned to Shun. "It could be that the part of Japan you were in is really polluted. Spica, I heard your orphanage uses a boat, is that true?" asked June.

Spica continued to look at the starry sky. "Yeah, when we went to see a meteor shower, they took us on a boat into the ocean, so the place was as dark as possible. I can't remember what the last one we saw was?" he mumbled as he banged his cup on his forehead trying to recall the details.

Leda sat his cup down and raised his finger. "Spica, it was the Lyrids."

The child nodded. "Oh yeah," he bobbed his head and smiled from the wine a little bit. "I always get them all mixed up."

Leda sharply raised a brow. "Spica, don't be stupid. The Lyrids are the easiest to remember with the Tears of the Lyrids Concert!"

Shun was confused. "What's that?" He's heard of the Lyrids but not of a Concert about them.

The Master raised his glass of wine. "The first Lyre Orpheus actually composed his famous requiem under the Lyrids for the Pope," he took a small sip. "So in celebration, every five years, the Lyre Saint reenacts this famous event in a concert for the public in Sanctuary. I believe next year, during the Eighty-Eight Knight Festival, will be when he performs once more." He held off telling them that they will get to see it if they live. The children seemed entranced by the meteor shower and their drinks. He'd hate to ruin the mood by bringing up such a morbid subject.

Shun's neck ached as he bent his head to get a more glorious view of all the shooting stars in the sky. This was nothing to the pictures he saw at the orphanage. Every time he blinked a new set would cut through the air.

_When you see one, make a wish! But you have to recite the pledge and make the wish as quickly as possible before it goes out or else it won't come true._

He remembered Ikki telling him that when they were outside trying to look for a shooting star in the sky. He remembered working so hard, but he could not see any shooting stars. Without shooting stars, he couldn't make any wishes at all, and that made him very sad. He even made a list that night and brought it out.

_\- He wanted a friendly dog. All the dogs that were around the orphanage were mean. Every time he threw a stick to them, they would just rip it apart and not bring it back. One bit Ikki's pants once. That was especially mean!_

_\- He wanted Daddy, wherever he was, to come back._

_\- He wanted him and Ikki to be together forever._

What was worse was that he stayed up for as long as he could. Ikki stayed with him, but he fell asleep by accident. All that time he had hoped that one shooting star would come to him. He begged Mommy to give him just one, even a puny tiny one. Sadly, Mommy was probably busy doing something else in heaven. Instead, Tatsumi came to him and told him that he was a fool to believe that a shooting star could exist in the afternoon.

Tonight there so many shooting stars and now he could pick one out to make a wish upon! Oh, how quick they were. One moment they were there, and the next they were gone. How was he supposed to make a wish if they won't stay still for just a moment? He shouldn't be picky. Before he had no shooting stars but right now it was like all the stars were falling down.

His head tilted. Oh, there's a shooting star! It's pink too, and it's still there! What a perfect star to wish upon! Oh, what should he wish for? He could wish that he and Ikki will be together? Oh, but he needs to get his priorities straight. He made a promise to Ikki, and he must keep it. He didn't realize how tough it was going to be to keep his promise and he'll need all the help he can get. Maybe the shooting star will grant it? Perhaps this was the star that Mommy threw to him from heaven, and she finally heard his prayer.

Shun jiggled his chains so he could warn the others that he was about to use his hands. He clasped his fingers and closed his eyes. He still remembered what Ikki told him what to say. He proudly lifted his chin, ready to sing to the stars and make his wish come true at last. "Oh shooting star, in the sky, I pray to you to hear my cry," he cleared his voice to ensure that the star doesn't misunderstand him in all his excitement. "I wish to win the Andromeda Cloth," he then decided as a special touch, he will add a little bit of his normal nightly prayer since Mommy had answered at last, "Yours Ever, Amen." He opened his eyes. Oh, his star is still up there, what luck, his wish will surely come true! "Hmm, that's odd." He thought that they're supposed to burn up by now. Wow, Mommy really knew how to pick them!

"WHAT'S HAPPENING!" screamed June as the Master grabbed a blanket. He snatched her and the chain gang, wrapped them up in it as well as the other blankets, and then pushed them down to the ground, using the sheets and himself to shield their bodies.

The pink Circle End slammed straight in the middle of the desert. The sky lit up erasing the meteor shower show for a moment while the island rumbled from the impact. A massive wave of sand flew all over the place.

Shun's body quivered. All he could really do was feel the others shift around in the dark. The Master was a heavy guy, and he felt like all of them were squished together. Suddenly, Shun could hear the roar, and they all shook and screamed in an incomprehensible mix of Japanese and Spanish as the pulse of sand struck them. He shut his eyes and tried to grasp his mother's pendant, but his hands and legs were being pulled by Leda and Spica. Everyone was breathing and screaming hard to the point that it made his eardrums ache. His teeth clenched hard as he wondered what in the world his Mother had sent to him. Shun attempted to move his face away from the blanket as it pressed against his mouth. He then felt the Master get off from on top of them.

"It's clear," the Master shouted in the Greek language once more; his voice muffled from the sand and blankets. Shun attempted to stand up only to realize there was a large layer of sand on all of them. He could feel the Master's hand as it seemed like he was trying to scoop it off of them. After a little bit, the Master reached down and pulled the blanket off. "Are you all alright?" He reached down and grabbed Shun's hands and helped the chain gang up before reaching down to get June back on her feet.

The trio looked around and noticed that almost half a foot of sand had covered them earlier. The wine was spilled all over the place while their bowls were either cracked or broken. Nobody appeared to be seriously hurt. The Master did look like he had several red wind burns and minuscule paper cuts from where the sand struck the spots, that his cloth did not cover, but nothing terrible.

They all were fairly jolted by what just happened. The Master was breathing hard. June, Spica, Leda, and Shun were all shaking from both the freezing air and the fear of wondering what will happen next. June immediately ran to the sand coated blankets that the Master threw off. She gathered them up and began to take the time to wrap them all up.

The Master turned toward where the spot that the strange object had landed. He quickly recognized the Cosmos, and he wasn't too happy. It felt odd though since he didn't think the Cloth was capable of that. It usually couldn't move its chains past five feet, but it wasn't the first, nor the last time it surprised him. "I'm going to go and check it out." He turned and faced the children. "June, watch the boys until I get back."

None of the children didn't want to be left alone, "Master, what's going on!" cried Spica as he wrapped his blanket around his head even tighter.

The Master calmly raised a hand. He didn't want to leave them either, but he sensed something strange over there that can't wait till morning. He lowered his voice and spoke as slowly as he could. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm very sure it's nothing dangerous," his fingers then shifted to the fire in the distance. "I'll be gone," he spread his fingers out, "for ten minutes," he lowered them down. "I won't take long. If you all are scared," he raised his finger and shifted his attention to the sky, "just watch the meteor shower to take your minds off of it." His eyes shifted meeting all their gazes. "Okay?"

They all slowly nodded. Leda jiggled Shun's chain and guided them over to the small hole that they were buried under earlier. He threw the blanket there with his free hand, and they all sat in it like chicks in a nest. They all turned back to the Master and realized he had disappeared. Heeding the Master, their interests began to shift from the dying fires of the impact in the desert back to the sky.

The boys all began to loosen up. Spica then opened up. "Man, if that's a meteorite, I hope the Master will let us keep it!"

Shun and Leda brightened up. For once, Spica's strange fascination with finding odd rocks had intrigued them as well. Leda was even grinning a bit. "That would be cool."

Suddenly their chains began to glow bright pink. "What's going on?" Shun muttered. Suddenly the chains lifted a little bit and quickly towed them down the desert. Blankets flew as they were helpless dragged over the dunes by the chains that bind them, screaming.

June followed as fast as she could. As soon as she was beside them, she took her whip and with perfect precision snapped at the chains, in hopes to break them off like in the Nebula Temple only to find no success. She could only assume that Andromeda's cosmos was empowering the metal making them impervious to her blows. She then changed tactics and struck again this time using her whip to grab on to the chains. She circled around to a low-level cliff, held on tight. Her body was horizontal with one good grip on its side as she attempted to pull the boys back. Her muscles pulsed as the chains on their hands and legs tried to pull away. She then noticed that the boys were crying as the force of the chains on their legs and her grip on the ones on their hands was pulling at their fragile bodies. She immediately released her whip in fear that the Princess may accidentally either rip them all in half or tear her arm out of its socket. She dropped to the ground and then quickly stood up so she could continue to pursue them.

**O|=====|O**

Shun lifted his dizzy head. Leda and Spica were already up and gazing at the Pandora's Box before them. Several brightly pink chains were strung all over. His heart began to race as the top of it flipped open. Two chains, one with a sharp Triangular End, more elegant than the ones at the Elysium Pretest, and the other with a broken link at the end rose up into the air. They had a similar glow to the shooting star that blasted into the island yet sparkled as if each individual link was a star itself.

The boys all crawled back as the chain smoothly slipped around their bodies, dancing around their legs and even shifted through their hair as if it was just exploring and poking around its guests.

June finally reached the entrance and poked her head. "Guys!" she whispered to them.

The Triangular End scanned the area sharply before pinpointing toward June. Sadly though, her time with them will be short, and she had none to waste on the likes of her. It returned back over to its task at hand.

"What's it doing to us?" called Leda as the triangular tip got a hold of his bandana and began to twirl them around.

She raised a hand. "Don't worry; it's just its way of getting a deep reading of your cosmos. It's never hurt any trainees before, so just sit there, do what it tells you to do until the Master gets back."

Shun's eyes raised up toward his hair as the broken end was fluffing it around and teasing his locks. "June, why can't," suddenly the broken chains smacked his head.

June shook her head. "Don't say my name, it doesn't like me."

Shun was surprised. June had been so kind to everyone since his arrival. "Why not?" he muttered as the links began to swirl his top like an ice cream cone.

June shrugged. "I don't know. Listen, I'm going to see if the Master had returned. Like I said, just do what it wants you to do and don't say my name." She ran back off into the desert to fetch her teacher.

After a little bit, the chain began to retract away from the trio slowly. They all wanted to run, but as it already proved, it had control of the chain links that had linked them together. To their surprise, it slowly moved forward and then began to break certain links until they were free.

Shun immediately reached over and massaged each of his wrists. It felt so good to be able to move freely.

Leda tilted his head toward the other two. His green eyes kept darting over to the exit and mouthing the words, "Let's get out of here!"

Suddenly the chains on the ground lifted up and smacked over and covered the only exit. Spica's eyes shifted around. "Um, let's not?" The Triangular End reached over and petted the blue-haired boy. "Do you think it likes me?"

"Whatever, you're just brown-nosing the Cloth." Leda knew Spica didn't care about earning the Andromeda Bronze Cloth and if there was going to be any brown-nosing, it would be him that does so.

Shun looked around as the light that emulated from the room began to brighten up. Earlier the room seemed dark and scary, but since June left, it was bright and cheerful. June did say that it won't hurt them and she had never been wrong before. He turned to it; perhaps they got off on the wrong foot? "Hi!" he waved. The Triangular End swiveled its attention to him and waved back.

It then slipped back to its box and began to push the sides out until the cloth sat directly in front of them exposing herself in more ways than one. Leda's jaw dropped. It was extremely rare to see a whole cloth without an owner out in the open. He should be amazed, but it was then he and the other two boys began to notice something else.

"Are those boobs?" Spica bluntly pointed out, finger and all.

Shun looked over at Spica. Maybe he never saw lady bumps in his life? "Uh-huh, you're exactly right, Spica. They are boobs," he spoke politely answering his question.

Leda smacked the two of them. "The Andromeda Cloth is for men only," he scoffed at their idiocy. He turned to the two pink orbs and shifted his attention away from them. "I'm sure they are something else," he added while folding his arms at his chest.

The Princess took its Triangular End and wrote in the sand. Shun looked up. "Two words?" he asked as he roughly tried to translate it. It then drew a smile in the sand to indicate that he was correct. It took its Triangular End and came over toward Shun's leg and pointed. Shun raised a brow. "Knee?"

It quickly sketched another smile. The first word was knee-. It then removed the circular pieces and then stuck them over Spica's knees. Leda snapped his fingers as the answer popped in his head. Unfortunately not before Spica's mouth opened up. "They're kneeboobs!"

Leda tapped his foot. "Stupid, they're not kneeboobs, they're kneePADS!"

Spica disagreed with a waggle of his finger. "Look, boobs… on knees…." he desperately pointed downwards to the bumps on his caps before slapping his thighs and raising his hands. "KNEEBOOBS!" Shun's eyes widened as both brothers turned toward him. "Hey Shun, what do you think?"

Shun blushed. Truthfully, Leda made the most sense, but he didn't really have any knowledge of what the sections of the Cloth were called. Not only that but he didn't want to take sides. He did the only sensible thing. "Umm," he pulled his fingers and turned to Andromeda. "Who's right, Spica or Leda?"

The Triangular End rose up and then to the shock of everyone, pointed at Spica.

The six-year-old punched in the air and did a little dance over his victory. "I told you! They were kneeboobs!"

Leda folded his arms, "shut up, _kneeboob_."

Shun scratched his head. Well, at least Leda stopped calling Spica stupid. The Triangle end then took its tip and began to write several lines dashes underneath. Shun scratched his head, why would it want to play hangman? He looked down at the lines down below.

**O|===HANGMAN===|O**

Leda walked over next to Shun and called out a letter. "e" The tip pointed down and wrote them in. The rose haired boy lifted his head higher as many e's were written in.

***e*e**e* *e *** *e****e* ***** ***e*e*, ****e*.**

**Graveyard:**

Shun scratched his head, "p" he chirped. He threw his hands toward his mouth as the tip placed his precious letter in the graveyard and drew a head in a noose. "Aww, no."

Leda wafted his hand as the seven-year-old strut his stuff to his dimwitted comrade. "Shun, obviously you do not understand the finer mechanics of this game. It requires intelligence and the ability to analyze the spaces and probability of each word. The p is clearly not a letter you should start with first." He clapped twice to draw attention over to the area. "Spica, come over here and show him how it's done!"

Spica was about to join in the game until he heard a female voice telling him not to or else she will drill a hole through his head.

Leda looked up. "Come on, it's your turn!"

Spica shook his head. "No, you guys go ahead, Hangman sucks."

Leda rolled his eyes. "That's because you sucked at it in the car!" his head shifted down toward the ground, "n". His jaw dropped. "What the hell, there are no 'n's in this? The n is one of the most popular letters in hangman. What kind of message is this?"

_[Good boy, typically only my Father and the future owner are the only ones privileged of listening to my voice, however, today I must make an exception. So tell me, why are you going at strange lengths to sabotage the practices?]_

Spica's face began to sweat as he ran into the corner and sat down with his knees tucked in. He still can't believe the Cloth is talking to him through its kneeboobs. He kept his voice to a low whisper. "Maiden Merope told me the tests of Andromeda were designed to ensure the failure of the students and that I should just go for a different cloth. There are other Pretests on this island; I just want to quit this one and do one that's easier. Besides, Leda and Shun are doing well. Maybe if I leave this Pretest, then Leda will treat me like he used to do?"

The Triangular End darted its attention between the Hangman Game and Spica.

Shun tapped his chin, "f". He lit up as there were not one, but two f's. He clapped merrily as Leda struggled to think of letters.

***e*e**e* *e *** *et***e* T**** f**e*e*, F*t*e*.**

**Graveyard: p,n**

_[Would you like to know a secret, Spica? However, you can't tell the others.]_

Spica turned toward the Cloth. Suddenly the Triangular End mechanically rotated the head till it met his gaze.

Spica's mouth gasped as he heard the message, "Are you serious!"

Leda stomped his foot. "Shut up, kneeboob!" he darted his head at the triangle end. "Didn't you hear me, I said –r." He nodded approvingly as several of them appeared. "That's better."

**Re*e**er *e *** *etr**e* T**** f*re*er, F*t*er.**

**Graveyard: p, n, k**

Spica felt his body sank and his heart pounded. "He does? Why?"

_[Remember, do not tell them. Not your brother, not anyone or else. Remember, the winds are everywhere and they will sing to me should you tell a soul. If you desire an excuse, just ask to switch sides and tomorrow you will surprise them! You will "miraculously" be a thousand times better. He's coming, now put back my kneeboobs before he finds out.]_

Spica immediately rushed to the Cloth and pulled the kneeboobs off his knees. He looked around and desperately tried to insert them back into their proper positions.

Loud footsteps began to approach as he quickly attempted to put the pins that held them in place. He turned around to face the door as the Master's shadow appeared. "June wait here until I lock her up."

The broken link side reached over and touched Spica's forehead in an attempt to communicate with him once more.

_[The left one is crooked, fix it!]_

Spica didn't even turn around as he lifted his arm and elbowed it back into place just as he heard the Master pulled down the chains from the door and entered the Nebula Temple. Spica ran over to him. The Master looked down at him to make sure he or any of the others weren't hurt from their ordeal. Shun and Leda were heavily focused on their game. All that was left on the hangman was the left leg.

Shun's fists rumbled as he struggled to think of a good letter, perhaps a vowel? "i?" He threw his hands upon his face. Alas, the i has made it to the graveyard. "No, the leg!" His lip quivered as its Triangular End drew the final body part. The game is over, and the message is incomplete. He then felt a hand. He turned around and lit up. "Master, you're okay! What did you find?" he didn't even notice that his teacher had returned.

The Master merely pulled out the broken Circle End covered in ash from top to bottom. The Triangular End's point turned to its other broken link. It merrily waved as it took the tips to form a heart before it slipped over his arm to pluck its global traveling chain end. However, he frowned as he grasped it tightly in his hand. The Triangle end struggled to pull its other piece.

Suddenly, with his free hand, he reached over and grasped the Triangle end and pulled it off leaving it with two broken ends. "Do you realize how much trouble you caused? I have just received an onslaught of messages from Saints all over the world saying your little stunt has caused nothing but riots and panic because people thought the world was going to end! I'm sorry, but I have no choice." He walked over to the box and began to lift up the sides.

Shun felt so bad for it, "Master, what are you going to do with the Cloth?"

He dropped the chain ends into the box, pulled the chains out and closed the top. "Oh, she will just be locked up for one month." His hands held the top. "Daughter, what do you have to say for yourself?" Suddenly, its broken link that held her Triangular End pointed to the unfinished game below. He stared at it and began to insert letters into the message. He flinched as the message came together.

People always wondered why he played such childish games with it. Aside from keeping it entertained, over time, it seemed like her strange messages and pictures always came true no matter how bizarre they were.

He sighed as he looked down and decided to take it easy on it, "two weeks." He then wrapped the box and then hooked the broken links together. To his surprise, it sat there quietly. Normally it would bang and rattle after its punishments, but it sat there calmly as if it accepted what would come. The three boys began to collect the chain links as the Master continued to stare at the message on the ground. "It's to me," he muttered.

Shun couldn't help but listen to the conversation that the Master had with the Cloth. He approached him and tugged on the cross of his right side. "Master, are you really her Father? You did call her, Daughter."

Daidalos placed his hands on his hips. "Shun, she's been calling me 'Father' since I was ten years old. What do you think?"

Shun tilted his head. He lovingly patted the Master's arm. "My brother told me my Daddy started young and early too!"

Leda was about ready to smack him. How could he say something so stupid? Doesn't he realize he is humiliating their group in front of their Silver Saint Master? It was then he noticed the Master chuckle. His teacher's shoulders moved as he attempted to keep himself controlled before patting Shun's back in good sport. Leda then decided to laugh as well and walked over toward his oddly quiet brother. "Spica, why aren't you laughing? Wasn't what Shun said absolutely hilarious?"

Spica stood there quietly. "Master, can we talk, it's about the chain gang positions."

The Master looked down at the chains in Shun's hand and then back at him. "We can; follow me outside and you can tell me all about it." He watched the child head out the entrance. He took one last look at the message:

**Re*e**er *e *** *etr**e* T**** f*re*er, F*t*er.**

**Graveyard: p, n, k, i**

**O|=====|O**

Ikki gazed outside the window. In three weeks, he'll be sent to Death Queen Island. He stared at the sky thinking of a memory long ago.

_"You stupid brat, you honestly believe that shooting stars would still show up in the afternoon?" laughed Tatsumi as he folded his arms at his five-year-old brother._

_Ikki walked over and held Shun, his body was shaking from staying up so long. Ikki looked down at the paper on the ground. All he wanted was a single wish. He didn't think Shun would stay up this long and he regretted not waking up sooner._

_Tatsumi walked past him making sure to step hard on his brother's list. He left a sizeable black footprint on the child's dreams as well as a streak of dog shit from the bottom edge of his polished black shoe._

_Shun wanted to grab his list, but now it reeked of feces. He turned to the sky and kept looking at it but alas his tired body gave out. He fell to the ground, dizzy from his long ordeal. "I just wanted one wish," he mumbled. "I wanted just one shooting star."_

Tatsumi really pissed him off that day. How could someone act so proud at watching an innocent heart being torn apart? No, he shouldn't be surprised. This was the same man who was overly delighted at the prospects that his brother would be sent to hell.

Still, he never expected Shun to believe the thing about a wish will come true if you say a long pledge and the wish in time. Shun told the others of it, but none of them believe them. Why should they, he made up the words himself. Most shooting stars only appear for a few seconds. Hell in this area of Japan they were lucky to see the stars at all.

_A Dog. A Father. A Brother._

_Something to love._

_Someone who would love him._

_Someone who would love him back._

He had forgotten all about the list and the shooting star pledge until today. Everyone saw the pink shooting star; everyone but Shun, the only one who ever held the belief that you could see them in the afternoon. He even heard others say their own versions of the shooting star pledge. "Shun, your shooting star came," he turned toward the chipped off-white paint of the window edge. "If only you were here to see it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was very surprised at how popular the Andromeda Cloth was when this was first written. When I first wrote this, the idea was that everyone on the island was determined to kill each other yet love each other at the same time. Because June is the heart of the island, I needed someone or something to make her feel threatened. That was when the idea of a jealous cloth was born. I really liked all the times the Andromeda Cloth moved on its own in the anime and I dialed it up to the eleven in this. Why she doesn't talk after Shun earned her was supposed to be answered, but I ended the story in year five. So if a year six is ever written, that would be one of the questions to be answered.


	5. 1E: The Elysium Leap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chain gang finally take their test. With a mere survival rate of 0% for that year, can the trio change it and survive?

June dragged herself from the edge of the desert to the Living Area. It was quiet; the chain gang did say that they were going for a few more practice jumps before they leave with the Master shadowing them. Around her body were three hundred pounds of leather bags and water dangling from ropes around her neck and shoulders. It was typically the Master and whomever he trusted the most to fetch the water. However, Leda, Spica, and Shun really wanted to practice, and she offered to take the duty from him. The twin volcanoes had been quite active and thus raised the temperature to a heat that was even uncomfortable to even her.

She lightened her load with each water satchel she emptied in the surrounding water pots. Her eyes occasionally shifted to the desert pondering how they were going to walk through it. Their best bet was to take the longer route by hugging the cliff's shadow. It would be a long journey but cutting through the sand on their level would probably be very difficult but not impossible. She did manage to reach the Underground Meteorite Fountain to fetch the pure waters without using much cosmos to keep her comfortable. She did have to conserve as much as possible for her part in the test.

After the last satchel was emptied, she opened the Master's hut with her spare key and entered. She looked around the room for a moment and walked over to his desk. She reached over for the first drawer and pulled it open. Three sacrificial daggers, one more than the norm were carefully laid on top of each other. The group had been doing quite well and was well out of what was considered the danger zone. She felt somewhat confident that they will get through the False Freedom Questioning, but the Master was required to be prepared in case. She pushed a few random things here including the old Argentinean Rock Flower that she gave him a few years back.

She took what she needed and then closed the drawer. She then moved over to her teacher's sizeable wooden chair and plopped herself right into its seat. She leaned on the back legs and rested her calves on the wooden desk edge ensuring that her feet dared not touched the surface. Last time she did this he was not too happy seeing her footprints all over it. Her hand reached over and snatched his pen to slip it in between the hairband in her ponytail and her scalp.

She reached over and pulled off her mask and set it down. It was terribly hot, and everyone was over by the beach. She wiped off the sweat of her brow and touched her bare temples to give her teacher a heads up.

_Master?_

She grabbed the thing that she needed and twirled it around with a free finger. Determining what Master Daidalos was doing, sometimes it can take a little bit before he'd reply.

_June?_

She spun the object a little harder watching it coil up her index finger before soaring up into the air.

_I got it._

She stopped her message as she took a moment to raise her arm and allowed it to slip on like an oversized bracelet. Losing her balance, she steadied herself on the chair and continued.

_It was over where you said it would be, Master. How are they doing on the beach?_

The Master gazed down at the children. Shun counted down, and he watched as the boys made it over the first jump and continued the others. They confidently continued their run over the second third and fourth ones until they placed all their power into the fifth one. He quietly sat there and recorded the results.

_Quite well, at least over here, I can't say what will happen when it comes time. Right now, under these optimum conditions, they do show excellent form. It's difficult to predict how badly the heat will affect the actual test. We should be back in the next two hours; see you then._

He closed their cosmos link and placed his book down. He watched the boys all bolting for the ocean staying in step without even realizing it. He rested his hands on the edge of the cliff and takes a moment to all simultaneously leap for the first wave to strike. They then all tumble face forward into the waters. Shun cried. He's still not used to the salty water. He was surprised the first time the boy did so after Leda and Spica brought him over. Shun begged for medical attention because he thought that the cursed waters have robbed him of his eyesight.

He turned to his book and began to sift through the pages. A curious thought entered his head. He took his finger and began to count the times. Most students spend only two weeks practicing, a week of serious training at most. The boys, most likely nervous about having three people, completed the entire month without taking hardly any breaks. Unlike most of the other groups, they made the concept of being chained together look natural. He should be thrilled; June should be excited, but ever since the meteor shower, they were not. The winds, the Andromeda Cloth's predictions, were never wrong, but they can change so he will, give the benefit of the doubt. It had been three weeks since he locked the Princess in the box for two weeks, she may have received a message but never told him.

Strangely enough, they probably played in the water the most. In truth, many trainees before them actually avoided the water on the day of the test fearing that the curse of the Ring of Poseidon will bewitch them. Even June believed in it. He turned to the chain gang as they all were attempting to ride a wave only to fall on their bottoms. Shun cried again. Leda did too but, as red as his eyes were, he looked like he was toughing it out.

They all finally got out, soaking wet from head to toe. Typically they would take time to dry themselves off, but in this weather, they wanted to remain as cool as possible. They all headed to their practice spot for the last time. Each one grabbed a tiny marker stone from their small pile and then headed toward the same cliff that the Master sat on and where Talus had written his name ten years ago.

Leda and Spica scratched their name in Greek and the date. Once they were done, Shun came up to the wall and pressed the sharp edge as hard as he could. He didn't quite have the elegance of his comrades. He first wrote his in the Japanese characters before etching it in Greek on the side. He dropped the stone on the ground, and all three of them stared at the four names. Shun's attention turned to the Master once from where he was perched and watching them from above. He was a little difficult to see with the sun behind his back. Leda jiggled the chain, and the trio began to move toward the path back to the Living Area.

Shun looked up once more, and the Master had vanished. This morning he did say that he needed to meet with them before they go. He asked him why, and he merely replied that today, was day thirty.

**O|==========|O**

**Love You, Kill Me**

**Part One: The Chain Gang of Andromeda Island**

**Chapter 5: The Elysium Leap**

**O|==========|O**

"What do you think he wants?" Leda quietly asked as they hiked up the trail. He reached up and attempted to comb his hair with his free hand in an attempt to spread the ocean water in his hair around his face. "Seriously, if he wanted to talk to us why didn't he do it earlier? For Athena's sake, he sat on that damn cliff since seven this morning. I don't see the point in dragging us all to his hut."

Shun wasn't quite sure himself. The Master preferred to speak with them either alone or when June wasn't there. He could've done it earlier during breakfast when June went to fetch water. Maybe it wasn't necessary? Perhaps he is going to encourage them before they leave? He did say it was day thirty after all. "Maybe he wants to tell us good luck?" Shun said.

Leda shifted his head a bit before nodding in agreement. "You know," he bit his lip as they passed the final hill and were at the entrance to the hut area, "that does make sense," Leda motioned his head to his brother, who had moved to the left side of Shun, three weeks ago, "What about you, Spica?"

**O|=====|O**

_Your Maiden Merope is correct, my Creator, a man quite proud of how I turned out, was quite ritualistic when it came to coming up with how one could earn me. Especially with the idea of: If one fails, they all fail._

**O|=====|O**

Leda and Shun gazed at Spica as he was in his own little world. "Spica, come on, what the hell are you daydreaming about?" barked Leda rotated in front of Shun and began to shake his brother.

Spica shook his head and turned to the other two. "I," he took a moment to debate whether to tell them or not. The thought crossed his mind several times since the Princess spoke to him, but every time he did, he recalled the frightening night when it threw part of its Cloth into orbit, crashed it in the desert and then dragged them all the way to the Nebula Temple. Did he REALLY want to piss off something that could do all that? So when it doubt, play stupid. "I was thinking about how awesome that rock over there looked!" He pointed to the cliffs to one he called "Cygnus Rock."

Shun joined Spica as they both marveled in awe like flies to a warm light bulb. It was a very handsomely shaped rock that looked as if something broke half of it, but part of the top remained. Personally, Shun thought it looked more like a duck, but Cygnus sounded far better. Leda grunted as he dragged the two for a bit before they followed on pace back to the Living Area.

Once they got there, June and their teacher were standing under the shady deck of the Master's Hut. She was sweating heavily while the Master seemed utterly unaffected by the weather even with his Cloth and full trainer underneath. As the trio came closer, Shun began to notice June gripping her own wrist tightly. "Are you okay, June?"

She looked up and threw her arms to her side before heading in front of them. "I'm-fine. Really, I just," she looked over to her Master for a moment before turning back to the others. She brought her fingers to her porcelain lips. As an Amazon, for her to emote, she had to exaggerate how she felt. A head tilt was happiness, fingers to the mouth were fear. She didn't want to show it, but it was more out of habit. The chances were small one of them would die from the False Freedom test, but that was it. There was still a chance, and it had occurred more than once in the past. The thoughts made it difficult to breathe, and the heat just compounded it.

The Master watched as she threw her hands nervously to her sides once more. However, her shoulders slumped, and her head was darting back and forth. He hurried over by her side and leaned down to her ear. "June, go lay down, you had a rough trip in the desert," he turned his head toward the trio and outstretched his hand. "Boys, hand me your water satchels, after the meeting, I'll go fill them up for you."

Spica and Leda reached down to untie the leather ropes from their sides while Shun waited on them. June bolted forward; unfastened Shun's and grabbed the others. "Master, I can do it. It's my job; I'll rest after I've done so." She bowed down to her teacher for his offer and then to the others before she threw the three satchels over her shoulders. She rushed to her hut. For some strange reason, instead of going inside, she took a moment to lean forward and rested her forehead against the outside of the door before pulling the chin of her mask to vent some air on her face.

Shun watched the Master stare at her. His face somehow softened, and he almost looked worried… almost, it was difficult to tell since it seemed like he was forcing himself not to care even though it is evident that he truly did. Leda reached over with his free hand and tapped the Master's forearm guard startling the Silver Cepheus Saint. Leda asked him if he was ready for them and he replied that he was. Shun jiggled his chains, and the trio moved forward toward the Master's hut, watching as their teacher would occasionally turn his attention to June while she continued to lean her forehead against the same wooden panel next to the door of her hut. Shun swore he whispered something in Spanish, but unfortunately, he couldn't understand any of it.

The Master opened the door and allowed the group to come in. Three chairs were lined up in a row in front of his desk with three off white clay cups and the matching pitcher. The boys all took a cup and then backed into the chairs. Leda sat first before lowering his hand so that Shun could get in, followed by Spica. It was almost like crawling into the bed at night except a little more comfortable because they didn't have to shimmy across from one end to the other nor worry about who will hog the blankets.

"How is everyone feeling today?" the Master casually started off as he strolled over to his desk. The boys all looked at each other, wondering who will speak out first. The Master reached out and raised the pitcher. "Hot, I assume?" They all nodded or commented in agreement. "That's what I thought." He brought the water, turned to their cups and was about to fill them. He moved to the left of Shun to the first boy in the line. "Spica I…"

Spica's eyes widened as his pulse began to race and think back to the Princess' words.

_The test ends after he had been denied three times._

"No!" he prematurely squeaked as he pushed his back deep into his seat.

Shun was confused while Leda frowned from his brother's rudeness. The Master raised a brow. "Spica, I haven't said anything yet."

"Oh," he mumbled as he shyly brought the cup up and tilted as high as he could to hide his face.

The Master shook his head. "Spica, would you like some more water?" The boy pulled the empty cup away and held it up. He filled it and turned to the other boys. He already had a feeling that his Princess told Spica more than what the boy originally hinted at. However, based on the other's reactions, they appeared dumbfounded by this and chances were that he was the only one whom it shared the test or tests with. He didn't think Spica would be a good fit for the Andromeda Cloth and would have had him change paths. Perhaps the other two were worthy of it, and that's why it didn't tell the others about the details of the False Freedom Test. "Spica, did you think you improved enough to stay with your group for the test?" He shifted his eyes downwards and watched him nod. "Good." There was no point in questioning him further.

He moved to Shun and stood in front of the boy. He filled his cup and looked down. "Shun, you've been crying at night quite a bit."

Shun's green eyes looked down as he shrunk into a seat. "I did?" he was quite confused but had a strange twist of embarrassment and relief. Leda kept telling him that he had drooled all over him every morning. It was odd that he would find himself on top of Leda, but it was good that they were tears all along.

The Master nodded. "Yes, you had. I'm just concerned," he poured more water. "The Elysium Leap this year has had a failure rate of about… one hundred percent."

Shun looked at the two brothers and then his teacher, "that's high." He remarked. He wasn't quite sure what to say. His fingers opposite the hand holding his cup reached down and twisted the fabric of his trainer pants.

He drummed his fingers on the edge of the handle. "It is. That's about twenty percent higher than years past. Are you sure you want to do it? I can't promise you if your chances are higher or lower if I've never had anyone try it with three people?"

Leda watched as Shun fumbled with his trousers. Why must he or Spica make them look so incompetent in front of their teacher? He took his right hand that was chained to Shun and quietly jerked his fingers away from his pants. "Master, just because the numbers are high this year doesn't automatically make the year a terrible one." He raised his cup and crossed his free right leg over the one chained to Shun. "I mean if you think of it, if you use fresh numbers at the beginning, you could say that a hundred percent of people who will take the Pretest was still alive." He takes a sip preparing for the final bit to his answer. "We have been practicing and doing quite well. I think we will be the group that will succeed and change this year from the worst to the best." Feeling proud, he casually turned to Shun and Spica. "Isn't that right?"

Shun felt elated. What a wonderful answer! Both he and Spica smiled and raised their cups in high spirits. Even the Master was fairly impressed by his reply.

The Master gave a polite nod to Leda. One of the reasons he chose Leda was that he had a very sharp mind with a set of skills to match. It was a good combination, but unfortunately, such intelligence can have a dark side to it. "Very good, I suppose then that you had and will be following what we talked about during the introduction." He quietly strolled a little bit before raising his eyebrows to him. "If you recall, it was about being good to your comrades, correct?"

Leda shrugged and took a drink. "I'll do my best."

The Master sighed. "Best" does not mean "yes." He headed over to his desk, sat the pitcher and rested his hands on the wooden surface next to his carefully laid out helmet. His hand instinctively reached for his pen but noticed that it was free of his fingerprints from when he used it last night. He picked it up. A very light hint of lilac meant she had it in her hair since she often used it in her shampoo. June was probably playing around in here while he was down by the beach and attempted to cover her tracks by wiping it clean. He took a moment to open his drawer, reach underneath in a small compartment above it. He touched the photo; it was still in its spot and didn't feel like it had any of her fingerprints. He was always worried she or someone will find it. He was supposed to burn it to demonstrate that the past was behind, but didn't have the heart to.

He shifted his attention as all three of the chain gang was sitting quietly and waiting for further instruction. Putting aside his personal matters, he sat up and folded his hands. Judging by Leda's answer and Shun's reaction he could safely declare them as denials to give up. "Alright, boys, you may take the Elysium Leap Pretest. The temperature is rising, and I should not delay you anymore. June will be a witness, but ultimately you all have until the end of the day to fetch your chain ends and show them to me." He closed his eyes and tried to think of an appropriate time. "Finish the test by noon, be back by two o'clock, however, I recommend you take a little extra time when you reach the fifth cliff, enjoy the view. It is quite spectacular. You can see most of the island from there, and I encourage you to do so. Especially the Nebula Temple, it's quite nice from up there, good luck." His head gave a polite bow to dismiss them.

The three boys stood up, bowed for him before proceeding to the door. They all got out and closed it behind them. Standing on the deck, Shun looked down and realized he accidentally forgot to give back his cup. "Hold on," he mumbled as everyone reluctantly rotated around.

"Goddess Shun, you heard what he said, it's going to get hotter," Leda murmured as he opened the door and flinched. He turned his rose-colored head over toward the others. "He's gone!"

"Really?" Shun waddled a little bit and looked around the room. "Well his helmet is still on the desk," he leaned down and sat the cup right outside the door. He looked up at the desk once more. "Um, no wait, now that's gone too." It was almost like he was a ghost. He closed the door and turned to the others. "I wonder where he went."

Spica moved toward the handle. "I bet he's under the bed or something!" he twisted it only to find it locked now. He knelt down at the bottom of the door and began to peep. "No wait; his bedsheets don't go that far. I guess he really is gone."

"What are all you doing? Are you all trying to spy into the Master's hut?" June suddenly appeared behind them holding a metal basin in her hands and several satchels around her shoulders. She tapped her foot waiting for an answer from the guilty trio.

Shun looked up and tugged along the sides of his trainer. "The Master is gone!"

June wafted her hand, "he does that all the time, you get used to it. I don't know how, but then again, there are many things he had never told me, but let's not worry about that." She tilted her head to show how happy she was to see them before reaching for the six satchels of water. The leather straps were coupled together that way she could place them around their necks. "It's awful out there; try to save one satchel for the trip back since you may need to drink a whole one prior hand to be in top condition for the test when you get there." After relieving the water satchels from her shoulders, she reached over to the small basin that she brought over and placed on the ground. In the waters were three colored handkerchiefs.

Shun thought she was just doing her laundry earlier. As it turned out, she began to tie them in their hair. The bandanas were soaking wet and felt oh so good. Plus they coordinated to their hair so if they do survive, they'll know who's belong to who when they do laundry.

Leda adjusted his fire-red bandana and turned to the others. "Is there anything anyone wants to do before we go?"

Shun shifted his eyes over. He thought about praying to Mommy, but the problem was that Ikki said Mommy only likes it when it was at night especially under a red moon. Besides, they'll most likely be unchained by the time they get back. He was reasonably sure that forcing both Spica and Leda to throw on blankets when he prayed was giving them the wrong idea. He can't even go to sleep without Leda ordering him to wash his hands afterward. "I'm good," he chirped as Spica nodded afterward.

June tilted her head, in happiness once more before they all sally forth to the desert trail that led to the Elysium Leap.

**O|=====|O**

Even though they had thick leather boots, the desert sand burned their feet with every step they took. Their headbands that were soaking wet thirty minutes ago, now felt like pieces of paper on top of their heads. Along the way, there was a spot that was carved out to provide shade when needed. They all headed over to it to take their first water break.

The three boys' faces were beet red as they took out their first satchel to chug the water inside them. It was so difficult to even breath compared to earlier. It had been a month since they walked into the desert during the day and Shun had already forgotten how parched the air was. It was like every breath he took sent a flash of flames down his throat. He chugged his water and looked at the others. All their sweaty trainers were now a shade darker due to how much they had perspired.

June turned to them and nodded her head. "At least all of you drank a gallon of water during breakfast."

Spica's eyes widened. "Um," he bashfully raised his hand.

Leda threw his hands to the sides. Of all the times to sink back to his old habits, he had to pick this day. "No! You didn't?" Spica shyly nodded before Leda looked like he was going to throw his satchel to the ground.

Even Shun was shocked at the revelation. "Spica?" it was all he could mumble. Shun hated it when Leda yelled at Spica, but today he really believed he had a right to. The Master and June had warned them over and over about this heatwave and that they must be double hydrated to ensure they can make it to the testing area in prime condition.

Shun began to examine Spica. His face was not as wet and shiny as his and Leda's. He was breathing far faster than them as well. He did eye Spica drinking his water bag along the way. However, now that they were sitting down, the prune-like appearance of his leather satchel could only indicate that it was empty when you compare it to the nice round fat appearance of the second one for the way back.

Spica had drunk all his water from the first container. They still had a thirty-minute trip to the Elysium Cliffs; there was no way any of them could go that long without water. The trio looked at each for an answer until June reached over and pulled out hers. "Here, take this; I can head back to the Living Area and wait for you all there. You know the way to the Elysium Cliffs; the test is officially over once you grab the chain ends, and the Master sees them."

Shun was surprised. "June, we can go back and get more water," in truth he wanted her there. He liked it when June cheered, and he was hoping she will be there at the end of the test, waiting for them. There were other reasons too. Leda thinks June and the Master communicate with each other using Cosmos since June would throw her hands on her temples to focus. The Master was difficult to tell since he seemed so well focused that the only way they knew he was talking to her was when he was silent with his eyes flinching ever so slightly as if he was reacting to any news he told her. Without June, if any of them needed help, they won't have a way to communicate with the Master. It would be like they would be genuinely alone there.

June waggled her finger. "That's impossible. The Master required that you all fulfill the test by noon and be back at the Living Area by two. All of you will fail if you try to return and come back." It was a situation that had never happened before, but she didn't want to risk what would happen if they failed that. "Don't worry, about me," she ran out to the carved out cliff and turned the corner.

The boys immediately followed. Leda, at the right-hand side, stuck his head. "She's gone, too?" he muttered. June was nowhere to be seen. The odd part was that she didn't even leave any footprints aside from those that led to them walking into the shaded area. Leda then pulled himself back in and pointed to the satchel. "Come on, she gave you her water, now show some respect and fucking drink it!" Spica immediately did so consuming half of the satchel before they all left the shaded spot to complete their journey to the Pretest site.

**O|=====|O**

Nobody spoke along the way. It was far too hot to do so. There was a large hill right before the actual set of cliffs that caused Shun's calves to ache with every step. It was then; Shun noticed that Spica's chain pulled him a little bit as if he was walking crooked. He turned his head to the left-hand side and saw that Spica was still sucking on the bag that June gave him. He knew that it had pruned a while back and he seemed like he was trying to suck what little moisture was in it.

Still, it did seem odd to Shun that Spica didn't hydrate well enough prior hand. He was doing fine with water even during the first week he had trouble. Lately, he'd been avoiding drinking too much as if he was doing it on purpose. However, now was not the time to question him; there wasn't much time, and they needed to get this done. There will be plenty of time once they get back to the huts where the water was plentiful, and they could rest. Shun could feel the cold sweat seep into his leather-covered hands from the others. He knew it was not just the heat but coming back to this place brought a lot of unpleasant memories. The many crosses lined up along the other cliff as if they were vultures, waiting to snatch them up and bring them up there with the others who failed. Then there was Talus' cross. For some reason, there was another rock with a flower sitting by his grave as if it was visited recently. He was quite sure that all the graves up to this point had just one.

Leda stepped forward a bit. "Come on, just as we practiced," he affirmed to all of them as he began to untie both of his satchels and laid them over to the side. He motioned his head downwards, and the other two quickly did the same. Shun placed him over to the left of Leda's, debating whether or not he should lay his pendant with them. For a moment, he began to question if he could do it. He turned toward the cliffs. They seemed a little deeper than he realized. However, he knew he cannot fail and placing Mommy's pendant over to the side was an acknowledgment of his doubt. He pulled his shoulders up and allowed the star to slide down from its spot under his trainer. It didn't feel the same as actually clutching and praying to it, but it did give him comfort, as if Mommy, God or someone was with him and will be with him forever.

Spica stared at the cliffs with wide, fearful eyes. "Deep," he muttered.

Leda turned to him. "Ignore it, we've done this many times, just think of…" they all turned to the sudden sound of a rock that randomly broke off. They listened to it bounce from an edge and roll down over what sounded like a pile of tiny stones. A chorus of rocks rolling down filled the air before it became silent once more.

Spica silently blinked. Shun blinked. Leda blinked before continuing his motivational speech, "just think of it like sand and not air," he murmured, his voice losing the bravado that it had held earlier.

They all lined up over the stone carving of Princess Andromeda's symbol. Shun took a moment to breathe. He dictated the pace, they don't control him, and he must make sure to signal at the right times. He's been messing up a few times this week, but luckily, the others were well versed with the jumps and corrected him. However, he must do his part and make sure every jiggle was perfect. Ikki was counting on him! "Is everyone ready?" he squeaked. Just like practice. He turned to his right; Leda gave the nod and then to his left as Spica followed. However, he then noticed that his face was a lot redder than expected. He hoped he'll be okay. "One, two three, GO!" he rasped as each word dried his mouth a little more.

They charged forward. Shun got his chains ready and shook them just as he made his plant foot. Suddenly, Spica halted causing Shun to jerk back with Leda following. They screamed as Leda fell first with Shun in the middle. Spica, held his ground as he attempted to pull the struggling group back to the top. Shun's hand clung to Spica's as the other struggled to hold on to Leda. Leda rocked over to the nearby side, circling freely around before grasping an edge. Shun felt Leda's side lighten as he climbed back up.

Spica buckled a little bit before placing his free hand on his head. He stumbled a bit looking as if he was about to pass out. "I need," he swallowed hard, "more water." He murmured. "Guys," he staggered a little bit before Shun and Leda immediately guided him back to where all their things are.

Shun took a moment to check their supplies. Everyone had drunk their first satchel. The only ones they had left were for the way back. Spica grabbed his other one and started to consume it. He looked extremely thirsty, his lips were beginning to blister, and he wasn't sweating as much as the others. He'll need to drink all his extra water to make it through the Pretest, but Shun couldn't imagine him surviving the walk back in his condition. Spica finished, sucking the satchel dry of all its fluids. Shun quietly reached over with Spica's side, grabbed his full satchel and placed it next to Spica's two empty ones. Spica turned to Shun. "What are you doing? Shun, you can't go through the desert with no water," he heaved as the blood from his cracked lips stained his teeth.

Shun shrugged. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want Spica to die if they do pass the test. That would be horrible. Shun had been very careful about drinking his water and despite being smaller, probably would have a better chance in the heat. Even if he passed out in the desert, there was the chance that June or the Master will be there to help him. If they weren't there, at least he'll know someone will be with their brother. "I'll worry about that later, let's go," he whispered. The longer they spent out there, the more dangerous the situation will become.

Shun counted down one last time. Spica was looking far more alert than earlier, and they must take advantage of that. However, they couldn't afford to mess up and start all over again. "Go!" they all took off. Shun listened as their steps were once more coordinated. It was a good sound to hear as they were all in stride. They came across the first ledge where Shun jiggled the sides and sensed the group move as one across the air. It honestly felt different than jumping over sand. It was almost as if he was flying. He wondered if the others felt the same way. He eyed the ground and moved his feet into position as they made contact, ensuring that they were in the right spot so that Leda and Spica could continue their momentum. Dust flew as the trio instinctively fought off the urge to quicken their pace after the adrenaline-driven the success of their first jump on actual cliffs. They had just crossed over fifty feet of air, and before they could celebrate, they must do it four more times. One of the problems they had from practice was that they were just too tired by the time they needed to jump to the fifth cliff. Maintaining their speed, they ran in step across the second cliff. It felt shorter than in practice.

Shun turned around for a second to see how far they traveled, "FOCUS, SHUN!" yelled Leda.

The green-haired child immediately shot his head forward. The edge was coming up. He planted his foot, shook the chains, and they all repeated the success of the first on the second one. "Oh...oh...oh...," Shun mumbled as his boot struck the second cliff. They were doing it! So far so good, Shun wondered why there were so few crosses in the middle of the cliffs. This was a dangerous activity, but at the same time, exciting. Fear was leaving his mind, and instead, a strange twisted sense of joy and power filled him.

The edge appeared faster than ever. The boys all leaped once more. For a moment, Shun felt himself smiling, and if he weren't getting thirsty, he would scream from the rapture.

Fifty feet didn't seem as scary after all.

As he felt their feet all touch the ground, he took a quick look and could see in the other faces that they did the same thing. He then gradually quickened their pace. Too much and the others wouldn't be able to adjust well. He could feel a slight drag with Spica's side, but he can't stop now. "Keep going, Spica!" Shun shouted as he attempted to encourage him to not give in to the terrible heat. The boys charged on toward the fourth leap. Shun gave a hard jiggle to Spica's side to ensure he was alert for the jump. They all shot up and passed it with ease. However, Shun could feel Spica's side lagging once more.

Leda turned to his brother. "Just one more, Spica!" he shouted as they began to sprint down the final cliff. The distance was a little scarier than the others. Up ahead were the three chain ends. Their mouths gasp as they approached the edge.

Shun sucked in some air and was about to take the final leap. Suddenly he felt a little jerk. Spica was off-step, and Shun was forced to slide his feet on the ground and halt. They all slowed down before coming to a complete stop at the edge of the forth cliff. After a month of practice, Shun knew all too well the result if someone was off: all they'd do was fall straight down and eat sand. The only difference today was that the sand was fifty feet below.

The boys all looked at each other. It almost felt like they were deserted. They were sweating hard as their muscles all began to ache. They turned to the fifth cliff. Right there was their precious chain ends glittering in the sun with a hint of Andromeda's cosmos emulating from the sharp metal. Leda turned downwards and noticed a couple of small ledges. They were impossible to see from a distance but were as clear as day up close. "Hey Shun," he paused, "you know that thing you keep talking about?"He muttered as he stared at the ledges.

Shun looked up, "uh-huh!" he nodded assuming how they should try to lean for the last cliff.

Leda raised an eyebrow. "I think we should try that," he bit his lip. "There's no way in hell we'll build enough speed to jump over this."

Shun shook his head. He only insisted that they should learn to do it in case they didn't make it. However, when they were doing well and had no trouble leaping eight feet, he dropped it after a while. Now they had no choice. Shun quickly went over a few mechanics. They took a moment to practice swinging their arms and throwing their body weight. After a minute they backed up to the farthest edge of the fourth cliff. The euphoria of leaping had long since passed, and now everyone was scared shitless. Their chains were all ringing at their sides as their bodies all nervously shook. They only had one try at this. Shun turned to the cliffs. So many crosses over this one spot, he wondered if any of them got stuck on the fourth cliff, the length of the fifth one dwarfed the others. It was scary, it was huge, and only those who can go past it had a chance at earning a cloth.

Shun shifted his eyes toward Spica, he's holding, but barely. He then turned to Leda; his eyes looked as if they were both fearful and at times, preoccupied. He turned to Spica and raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, Shun, hurry up," the blue-haired boy heaved.

Shun returned his gaze back to the cliffs. "Oh, I hope this works," he thought to himself as he took a sharp breath to calm himself. He counted down for the last time. "GO!" the boys charged forward as fast as they could. There was no time to increase speed gradually. Shun felt their feet go off the pace at times but with two feet to spare; they got back on the same foot. He threw his hands again, feeling the others desperately attempt to follow his movement. They all leaped forward, saying goodbye to the fourth cliff. The boys all reached up in an attempt to grab the top edge of the fifth cliff. Spica grabbed it first with his free hand causing Shun and Leda to dangle freely.

"Hurry, can't hold much," Spica's face was dark red from the weight and stress of attempting to pull Shun and Leda up, summoning his what little cosmos he had. Shun's green eyes managed to gaze upon the chain ends. Spica tried to get the hand that was chained to Shun up to the cliff until his deep red free hand gave out. Like slow-motion, Shun watched as the three triangles disappeared from his sight. Spica was just too weak right now to pull them up like earlier.

They all screamed as they fell to the earth below. All three of them threw their hands wildly trying to grab something.

"Shun, the ledge!" screamed Leda.

Shun looked down and saw it. He slammed his hands as hard as he could into the cliff, feeling his nails break underneath his gloves. He wailed as the chains on both sides of his hands pulled attempting to pry them apart from the rock. He clung to it, watching the blood seep out of his gloves and onto his head. Suddenly, Leda's side lightened up and then Spica's. Shun's heart eased a little bit as the brothers found a set of ledges to cling to. He moved his feet onto the other ledge. His body was stretched out due to his size, but at least he had something for his toes.

All three of them looked up to the side of the fifth cliff. They were on the only set of ledges, one for their hands and the other for their feet. Before they were eight feet away from the cliff and now they were ten feet below. Shun wanted to cry. Why did this have to happen? It was mostly a smooth surface with fingernail marks of past trainees who clawed the sides in despair. Even brown streaks of what one could assume were old blood had tainted it. The top ledge that Spica grabbed earlier was just too high. All they had were these two. Were they expected only to let go and fall? If they waited here for the Master and June, would they fail? He wondered if others just gave up.

"Shun, over there, at your feet!" spoke Leda as he nudged his head.

Shun did as he was told and for the first time, noticed a set of boot prints right where he was standing. They were a little larger than his and couldn't have been made by anyone from their group since he was standing there the entire time.

Leda continued. "They're over here too, they repeat on this side, but not on Spica's side." He tilted his head over and began to edge along the path. Shun and Spica followed as they edge along the side at a plodding pace. As they moved, Shun noticed his body was stretching less and less as if the edge gradually curved upwards. After rounding the corner, there was a set of holes carved out, perfect for them to climb up.

Leda started first, followed by Shun and then Spica. They could tell the holes were designed for two, so they had to climb at a diagonal. Despite the throbbing pain from his hands, Shun soldiered onward as the cliff's edge was within reach. As his bloodstained leather gloves reached up and felt the smooth surface of the fifth Elysium Cliff for the first time, joy-filled his heart once more. Did they do it? It was almost like a dream. The set of cliffs that claimed so many, and they were about to pass it. He pulled his head above the ledge and sitting on the final cliff was a set of cutters for their chains, a ladder to cross the last gap easier, and the three chain ends held by a wooden stake. The boys had made it!

Spica was breathing hard as he grabbed his blue bandana and wiped whatever sweat he had on his face. Leda immediately grabbed the cutters and began to free each one of them.

Shun touched his wrists, and for the first time in weeks, was able to stand up on his own. He stretched his body and moved around for a bit embracing their victory that they had worked so hard for. Leda casually kicked the wooden stake, breaking it. He picked up the three shiny chain ends. Up close there were guards on the sides probably for training purposes, but the tips were still reasonably sharp. Leda touched it and accidentally cut his finger. He then handed them each one, carefully holding it from the latches.

Shun held his in the air. He stood up and looked toward the horizon.

_The view from the fifth cliff is quite spectacular. You can see most of the island from there, and I encourage you to do so. Especially the Nebula Temple, it's quite nice from up there…_

He walked past where the fallen stake once was and stood at the edge of Elysium. It was then he started to see other carved images of Andromeda with other symbols next to it. He turned to the Northeast and in the desert saw Andromeda's Seal next to another carved picture of a woman. He looked above and noticed that their constellations were cut above them. She must be Cassiopeia since her set of stars was a W, one of the easier constellations to pick out.

In the desert, at the far eastern side was a large black metal plate. The Andromeda Seal was again placed in front of it while the plate had a gold ring along the edge and the golden outline of what looked like a Buddhist lotus in the center.

He then turned to the Northwest corner of the island where there was a very large and somewhat cube like-cliff with a broad peak on each edge as if it was once a building or even a castle. This one actually had both the Andromeda carving and the Cepheus one as well. He recognized it from the Master's Pandora Box. The Master did mention he trained here and perhaps that was the spot?

He turned toward the Nebula Temple. He quietly gazed at it. It was so black that it was like a black hole in the middle of the desert. It was then he started to see something. His eyes shifted around as he slowly smiled. "That's neat," no wonder the Master liked this spot.

Shun raised his head and gazed over to the ocean and could see where the Ring of Poseidon ended, and the real sea began. He smiled as a set of dolphins shot out from the waters and playfully flipped around the edge of the Ring without daring to go near it. It was strange how he thought that perhaps it was just a single rock with nothing on it. After today, he'd like to explore more of it. The more he stared, the more he grew interested. He turned toward the south and saw another area and what looked like a large chess set. He bet there were many other things he could see here, and now he will have six years to do so. Shun smiled wider as he turned to his chain end. He thought of Ikki and his sacrifice. He remembered how the guards warned how awful this place was. Maybe Andromeda Island, isn't really all that bad?

*SMACK*

Leda took the wooden stake end and swung it like a bat against Shun's head before kicking him forward. He watched silently as the little green-haired boy fell forward, disappeared past the horizon where he assumed he plummeted into the fifty-foot drop.

Leda turned to Talus' grave. He takes the wooden stake, uses it to give a sharp salute toward the long-dead child before careless chucking it over where Shun fell.

From a distance, a hand pulled out a piece of paper. His blue eyes shifted from the message and quietly toward the two boys on the cliff.

_Re*e**er *e *** *etr**e* T***s f*re*er, F*t*er._

_Graveyard: p, n, k, i_

_Remember he who betrayed Talus forever, Father._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though the Elysium Cliffs and the Master were the upfront obstacles for Shun to conquer, throughout this arc I made sure to pepper it with hints that Leda was one as well. Out of the whole story, this was probably my favorite twists for that reason. 
> 
> Sorry that the main character is dead now. We may just have to have sixty chapters of Leda being the Andromeda Saint. :D


End file.
